


Nymåne

by boba_macchiato



Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE, 1TEAM (Band), Mamamoo, Mentioned ATEEZ, Mentioned NATURE, Stray Kids (Band), iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: 1TEAM focus, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mermaids, Mermen, Multi, Suicide Attempt, Supernatural AU - Freeform, THE SUICIDE ATTEMPT IS NOT FOLLOWED THROUGH, Vampire Hunter, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, all other groups are side characters mainly, antagonist bc, felix and bangchan are only going to be here briefly, hunter jehyun, i'll add other relationship tags if they come up over the course of writing this, idk we'll see, im sorry, jehyun is the lead hunter, maybe someone important will die, mentioned characters from other groups are just casualties, merfolk, merman jinwoo, mythological creatures AU, not the tv show supernatural, please don't read chapter 8 or 9 if that will trigger you, soyeon and mingi are twins, vampire rubin, werewolf hunter, werewolf sungho, witch hunter, witch junghoon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2020-07-19 03:36:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19967404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boba_macchiato/pseuds/boba_macchiato
Summary: The war between the four clans had been going on for years, but Moon Jehyun is sick of the freaks running around Soknan Island.At least, until he was fooled by one of them.





	1. un.

**Author's Note:**

> just a note !! this first chapter is simply a prologue/snippet of the first chapter. this fic will be short, maybe only two, maybe three chapters long, but i wanted to put this out there right away because i'm lowkey in love with this plot/au i've had for a long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is mainly exposition, ofc. just to be clear, this story takes place on a fictional island that is similar to jeju - part of south korea but is mostly wildlife unlike jeju. but here we meet all of 1team as well as jehyun's group of hunters !!

Jehyun’s lungs burned as he ran, but he couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t. He wasn’t about to let another damn wolf drive him out of the territory before he could slit its throat again. Not when he was so close - and this was the biggest one he’d ever found. He wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers again.

The ground seemed to shake beneath him as the werewolf bounded after him, growls ripping from its throat as it bared its teeth. Jehyun wasn’t phased by it anymore, not after years of hunting these mutts down, but that didn’t stop the adrenaline from pumping through his veins. He risks just a couple of seconds to take in his surroundings, feeling a bit more relieved when he catches sight of a clearing to his left. Jehyun wastes no time and makes a sharp turn, running into the clearing just as the werewolf comes barreling past.

Normal wolves were already big enough, larger than what most people would think, but werewolves were  _ massive _ . This one in particular was maybe a little less than a meter tall at the shoulder, if Jehyun were to guess. This wolf wasn’t even the alpha, perhaps only a delta within the pack. Jehyun had only seen the alpha once before, and that was the only time since he had begun hunting that he felt true fear. Whoever it was, their wolf form could tear a human to shreds in under a minute. 

The ground beneath Jehyun’s feet stills as the werewolf lets out an angry huff, sniffing the ground for the hunter’s scent before turning towards the clearing. Jehyun slinks back into the greenery, narrowing his eyes towards the source of the werewolf’s sounds as he retrieves the handgun secured in the holster at his thigh. He loads in a couple of silver bullets and turns the safety off as he points the gun in the direction of the giant wolf. 

Seconds turn into eternities as the wolf prods around, probably trying to mess with Jehyun’s senses. Little did it know, though, was that Jehyun was the best hunter on Soknan island, and perhaps the best in South Korea. His name was known to hunters all around the country, though he rarely spoke with any other hunters besides his group that he had formed over the years. Speaking of them, they were supposed to be helping him. Where the hell did they go?

Jehyun tsks under his breath, not taking his eyes away from the rustling of leaves a few meters away. He wasn’t sure what the wolf was planning, but he wasn’t going to let his guard down. The silence goes on forever until finally the wolf jumps out, so close that Jehyun nearly stumbles back. Nearly. There’s no hesitation as the trigger is pulled, sounding a loud  _ BANG!  _ as the wolf collapses over with a whine, blood leaking from its neck. Its breathing becomes labored as its life begins draining away, the golden eyes staying trained on Jehyun as he pulls out a large knife.

The hunter kneels down beside the wolf, his expression remaining stoic and emotionless as he places the blade against the werewolf’s throat. “You should have known you couldn’t win, mutt.” Jehyun says, applying pressure and slicing the flesh of the creature’s throat with one swift movement.

The wolf’s head goes limp against the ground as Jehyun stands up, wiping the blood on his hands off against his jeans with little care. “Gross,” he mutters, putting the knife away and instead pressing the button on his radio earpiece. “Whichever asshole decided to abandon me, thanks,” he starts off, knowing that none of his group would dare ignore one of his messages. “I killed the wolf. Where the hell are you?”

“Sorry, boss,” a familiar female voice sounds through, staticky enough to signal that whoever it was was a good distance away from him. He couldn’t tell if it was Minnie or Moonbyul through the distortion, though. “We ran into a couple of vamps, so we had to deal with them.”

“And how long did that take?” Jehyun asks, leaving the clearing as he pulls out his handheld GPS and powering it on. 

“Only a couple minutes,” the same voice responds back. “You know how vicious Byul is.” Jehyun should have known this was Minnie. Only she referred to vampires as ‘vamps’.

“Good on you two, then.” Jehyun says, determining he was closest to the werewolf territory, quite a bit of way away from the witches’ territory where they had all started. “Are Hanbin and Bobby with you?”

“No,” a different voice answers, this one Moonbyul. “They stayed by the witches’ territory.”

“Good,” Jehyun says, heading towards the witches’ territory while keeping under cover of the brush along the makeshift trail. “Hanbin, Bobby, you two bastards alive?”

Minnie and Moonbyul remain quiet as they all wait for a response. Just when Jehyun was about to threaten them over the radio again, a loud cracking sound rips through his ears, causing Jehyun to wince and pull the earpiece off. “What the fuck?” He hisses, attempting to keep his voice down as he replaces the piece. He hears the two men yelling at each other, though he’s not sure what for.  
  
“Are you two seriously arguing outside of the territory?” Jehyun asks, glancing back behind his shoulder as he keeps his brisk pace.

"No!" A voice breaks through the yelling, and Jehyun can immediately recognize it as Hanbin. "Bobby was a fucking idiot and walked through one of those damn spell traps, even though  _ I told you!  _ that it was a trap!" He exclaims, sounding as if he was scolding Bobby at the same time.

Jehyun stops in his tracks and takes a moment, muting the two males yelling at each other to force out a breath. He needed to compose himself before he said something he regretted. "Just meet back at the rendezvous," he says to the other four before taking the earpiece out again and shoving it in his pockets.

Bobby and Hanbin were the newest additions to Jehyun's team, joining only a little over a year ago. Moonbyul was his first partner. They'd trained together since he was fifteen and she was seventeen, so when they were finally allowed to hunt on their own, they just never drifted away. Both of them found themselves hunting together constantly, and were a nearly unstoppable duo. However, each had their different strengths as they chose to focus on different creatures during training. Jehyun was a werewolf hunter, while Moonbyul hunted witches. She'd always hated them as long as Jehyun could remember, but she'd never talked about why. He didn't pry, either. 

Only a year after Jehyun turned eighteen, they stumbled upon Minnie near the vampire territory. The lone hunter sporting only a hunting knife, crossbow across her back, and a recurve bow barely made a sound as she moved throughout the forest, and needless to say Jehyun and Moonbyul were impressed.

Minnie was a completely different person while hunting than when she was off-duty. She'd eagerly accepted their offer to form a team once they were safely out of the forest and away from any territories. It was like she had become a completely different person, all smiles and humorous remarks.

It was just their small trio for the longest time until Hanbin and Bobby came into their lives, kicking and screaming. Almost literally. Moonbyul had almost gotten bitten by a vampire because of two idiots yelling around the vampire territory and blowing their cover. Luckily by that point, Jehyun had hardened against the world enough that he didn’t hesitate to scold the two strangers for it. And despite somehow now being in the same group, that hadn’t changed a bit.

It didn’t take too long to meet back where they had initially parted ways, though Jehyun was the first to arrive. Here, they were far enough from imminent danger, and the sun shone through the trees in little rays of light that danced across the forest floor. As cold as Jehyun could be on hunts, he always enjoyed simply being surrounded by the Earth. He doesn’t even notice Minnie and Moonbyul approaching him, though he rarely does. Those two possessed an agility and grace that never ceased to amaze him.

“There you are, glad to see you alive.” Jehyun says, flashing them a quick smile before surveying the rest of the area. “No signs of the idiots.”

Minnie smirks and tilts her head as she rests her large takedown bow on the ground and leaning forward against it. Her arsenal of bows and silver-tipped arrows was expansive and impressive. Jehyun could only dream of having that many weapons at his disposal. “Wouldn’t surprise me if they pissed off a witch enough to get killed by one.”

Unlike the other creatures in the forest, the witches hated causing harm. According to Moonbyul, it was because of some rede or rule they follow about doing what one wishes as long as no harm comes to anyone. However, they weren’t afraid to play dirty with curses if there was any sign of danger.

Just as Jehyun was about to respond, a delirious Bobby bursts through the foliage, nearly tripping over himself if it weren’t for Hanbin barely catching him by his shoulder. “Jesus Christ, Bobby, you’re seriously gonna get yourself killed one day.”

"Maybe!” Bobby exclaims, managing to stand up straight. He sounded oddly proud of himself. “But today is  _ not  _ that day!”

Hanbin groans as he turns towards the pair of girls. "Byul, do you know what spell he walked in?"

Moonbyul, being the only witch hunter of the group, knew how to identify certain curses and spells and ways to reverse them - most of the time that turned out being a good night's rest to let the spell wear off. But as she watched Bobby continue to run his mouth and over exaggerate his movements, she sighs. "I actually have no idea. But it'll probably be another one that runs its course in a few hours."

"Let's just get going, then," Jehyun says, motioning for them to follow him back to the van. "We can't have him being that loud around the forest and risking us getting killed."

The rest of the group - the cohesive members - nods, following behind Jehyun as they head back towards their vehicle. Minnie slings her bow over her shoulder as she falls in step beside Moonbyul. "Good thing I brought my headphones."

* * *

As per usual, Junghoon was the only one on time. He didn't know why it was so hard for the others to show up when they all agreed, and them being leaders of warring clans was not an excuse. Rubin and Jinwoo took the time to begrudgingly set up these meetings, and they couldn't even bother to show up on time. Junghoon wouldn't even care if they were ten minutes late, but he cared when it was upwards of an hour.

The witch felt like he'd been there forever when he finally heard loud footsteps coming towards him. Rubin really wasn't subtle at all.

"Sorry I'm late-" The vampire starts, soon being cut off by Junghoon. 

"Yeah, you lost track of time  _ again _ , just like always." Junghoon says, standing up straight as his violet-flecked eyes narrow at Rubin. They may have been friendly, if not friends in the past, but the witch never let Rubin forget that he fucked up.

Rubin pauses for a moment, then lets out an almost bitter but amused huff. He grins. "You never change, do you, witchling?"

Junghoon stays silent, choosing not to comment on the nickname he hated. He was young, but wise and knew how to pick his battles. There was a very good reason he was appointed as High Priest. "Did you see Jinwoo or Sungho at all?"

Rubin leans against a nearby tree, his arms crossed over his chest as the grin remains plastered on his face. “No,” he says simply. “Why would I watch for them?”

Junghoon’s jaw tenses as he watches Rubin, working through all of the things in his head that he should and shouldn’t say. Instead, he just nods stiffly and keeps his eyes trained on the vampire. He didn’t like to be alone in his presence at all. The witch’s hatred really just masked the fear he felt towards Rubin, and it took a lot of strength to not cower to the High Lord.

It was a relief when he sensed a presence behind him. Junghoon turns around, watching the hidden trail before Jinwoo even shows himself. The shorter male looks very displeased with the current situation, picking dry leaves out of his hair and rubbing at caked mud on his cheek with his nails. He doesn’t say anything as he walks past Junghoon and settles himself away from the witch and Rubin, muttering something about a lake.

Junghoon was about to say something to him, but a shiver running up his spine stops him. He knew exactly who was coming as soon as the hostile aura washed over him, making him feel nauseated for a moment.

As the Alpha approaches, low thumps rumble through the ground as the monstrous black wolf saunters through the trees.  _ Of course _ Sungho had to show off. He sits down on the ground, staring at each of them with his narrowed golden eyes. Jinwoo appears startled, backing up against a tree while Junghoon simply watches him with wary eyes. 

Rubin stands up straight and approaches Sungho, his expression still coy as he stares up at him. “We’re here to talk. You do know that, right?” The vampire asks, tilting his head in feigned inquisitiveness.

A growl rumbles from the wolf’s throat as he bares his teeth for a moment. He angles his head down towards the vampire, golden eyes glaring daggers at him. 

“That’s not talking,” Rubin coos sarcastically. “We don’t have telepathy, if you didn’t know that. Shift.” He commands, his tone dropping all of a sudden to a demand of authority.

The wolf is eerily silent and still for just a moment, as if debating what would happen if he refused the order. However, he finally huffs and shuts his eyes. The clearing fills with the noises of bones cracking and rearranging themselves as canine whines turn to human groans of pain. Sungho laid there clad in loose-fitting clothing as he catches his breath, then glares back up at Rubin. “Asshole,” he mutters, sitting up as the vampire makes his way back to his original spot.

“You actually have legs?” Sungho’s gaze lands on Jinwoo as he dusts himself off, smirking just a bit as he watches Jinwoo’s eyes narrow, making the aqua flecks in them more prominent.

“Are you stupid?” Jinwoo asks. Those were the first words to come out of his mouth since he’d arrived.

“Don’t even start,” Junghoon interjects, his voice quipping the nasty remark on Sungho’s tongue. The werewolf’s eyes flash gold as he glares at the witch, humming in irritation under his breath. “The less we argue, the faster we can get out of this, so don’t bother being childish.” Junghoon bites back the ‘mutt’ insult, knowing it would only make him a hypocrite.

“He’s right,” Jinwoo says, barely glancing at Junghoon. He and his clan were the furthest out of the war, instead choosing to be the neutral side. Because of that, he really hated being dragged from the water to be covered in grime and dirt only to argue with the other three leaders about the group of hunters that  _ just wouldn’t leave _ . “Quick and to the point. Otherwise, I won’t even bother anymore.”

Rubin nods slowly, seeming to actually consider the merman’s words before continuing. “So? They were here yesterday. Any casualties?”

“Mingi,” Sungho speaks up, his eyes darkening as he looks down to the ground. “His throat was slit and he had a bullet hole in his neck. Wasn’t even clean.” He says, his voice catching near the end.

Junghoon wants to say something comforting - it was just in his nature - but it wasn’t the place. His sentiments would probably mean nothing to the Alpha, anyway. “One of them walked through a spell trap. Which wasn’t supposed to be there, but one of the apprentices doesn’t like to listen.” He says, aware too late that he was probably over-sharing. 

“Two of our guards, Saebom and Loha.” Rubin says, only adding to the grim feeling settling over them. It was the one time that they weren’t ready to go at each others’ throats. “Three dead… that’s the most ever killed in one of their hunts.”

The silence seems to go on forever before Rubin speaks again. “As far as I know, we’ve never really seen their faces, except… Junghoon? You’ve seen one of the girls?” He asks, turning towards the High Priest.

Junghoon nods slowly. “The one with the bows.” He specifies. “Otherwise, I’ve never seen any of their faces.”

“Anyone else?” Rubin asks, glancing to the other two clan leaders. Both shake their heads silently, causing the vampire to sigh. “Then that’s our objective, agreed? Find out who they are.” He asks.

Jinwoo and Junghoon nod, but Sungho simply watches them all with narrowed eyes. “Seriously?” He asks, glancing at Rubin. “Just find them? They’ve killed too many of all of us, and you just want to  _ find them _ ?”

Rubin’s red-flecked brown eyes narrow at Sungho as he drops his arms to his sides. “You really have a death wish, don’t you, Sungho?” The vampire asks, annoyance leaking into his voice. “I don’t care what we all think of each other, we have to work together against a common enemy. That takes small steps, not immediate bloodshed. Not everything has to be violent, you fucking scoundrel.”

Sungho’s eyes turn a bright gold and a growl rips from his throat as he lunges at Rubin. Luckily, Junghoon had quick reflexes, and a metaphysical barrier thrown up between the werewolf and the vampire was easy enough to conjure. Sungho barely even notices as he pushes against the shield. “You don’t get it, bloodsucker,” the werewolf retorts, wanting only to give into the impulse of shifting and ripping his throat out. “Just getting their identities won’t do  _ shit _ . They won’t stop because they have a whole country of humans behind them. We have us and our clans, that’s it. You think we can win against that?” He finally finishes, pulling back only just a bit.

Junghoon was a strong witch, but holding back the Alpha of the werewolves easily took a toll on him. He drops the shield, trying to hide the fact that he was short of breath. Maybe he was just paranoid, but he thought he noticed Jinwoo’s gaze flick to him for just a moment.

Rubin simply watches as Sungho goes into a rage, knowing full well that he had issues with that. As soon as the barrier between them is gone, Rubin disappears from sight, making Sungho nearly flay someone right then and there. He didn’t take kindly to being made a fool of, especially after being called stupid names and having to deal with these  _ idiots  _ for so long. He didn’t earn the Alpha title to deal with cowards that weren’t going to get rid of a problem at its source. “Scared, freak?” He calls out, glancing around while listening for any signs of movement.

“No,” Rubin’s disembodied voice says from behind him. Sungho doesn’t move. “It’s called self-preservation. Do what you will, but we’ll be taking the safe route. If you’d like to out yourself to the most dangerous threats to our kinds, knock yourself out. I’m leaving.” He says, materializing once more as he turns on his heel to leave without looking back.

Sungho’s breathing is ragged as he remains in his spot, his eyes still a golden hue as he glances at the other two clan leaders. Without a word, he takes off running towards his territory, eager to finally get away.

Junghoon lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, glancing over at Jinwoo. The merman simply shrugs, not saying anything, similar to Sungho.

“That’s that,” Junghoon mutters, straightening out his jacket. “See you around, I guess.” He says, watching as Jinwoo gives a half-hearted wave.

“Bye, Junghoon,” Jinwoo says in farewell, leaving in the same direction he came in, seemingly in a hurry. He really hated being out of the water.

Once the merman is gone and Junghoon is finally alone again, he groans into his hands. “What a bunch of timebombs,” he mutters, finally leaving the clearing to head back home. He had apprentices to train, and he didn’t need the thought of the other leaders or the hunters plaguing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're all assholes i'm sorry  
> also follow my 1team ig account !! @junghoon.steponme


	2. deux.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junghoon may be the High Priest, but going against Soojin's advice (more like orders) would not be the best choice.
> 
> Jehyun needs to unwind after the hunt, and finds just the right way to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it goes from wholesome with junghoon and soojin to a bit risque and suggestive with jehyun
> 
> also yes, there is implied sexual relations at the end but it's a fade to black so dw if you don't like smut

The sight of the ivy-covered mansion hidden in the heaviest part of the forest took all the tension off of Junghoon’s shoulders. Just being surrounded by the trees, the grass, walking through the sun’s rays to see  _ home _ made him feel safe and relaxed. Especially after that meeting.

The witch sighs as he nearly runs for the large double doors, pushing them open with some effort and stepping inside. The foyer was void of people, but that was made up for by the hanging and potted plants covering the space and large books scattered everywhere. This was quite normal, and Junghoon was a culprit of the inorganization himself, so he wasn’t strict about keeping the place clean. It was a nearly impossible request within his coven.

Just as Junghoon was about to head to the courtyard, he saw a familiar black-haired girl rounding the corner with her nose stuck in a book. The High Priest can’t help but to grin. “Soojin, you might want to watch where you’re going.” He speaks up, causing the female to startle and let out a small yelp as she nearly drops the book.

Soojin’s usual reaction would be to simply walk away from whoever had distracted her from the complex new spell she was trying to memorize, slightly irritated, but seeing as it was Junghoon, she wouldn’t ever dream of that. “Junghoon,” Soojin greets, standing up straight. “Welcome back. How was the meeting?” When she had first arrived to this territory on Soknan Island a couple of years ago, she had always been very polite and formal around Junghoon. She always bowed when she spoke to him, though he eventually told her to stop because it was awkward for the both of them, as he was younger than her. Now the two were nearly inseparable - they balanced each other out well in both personality and magickal specialties. If something were to ever happen to Junghoon, he wanted Soojin to be the one appointed as the next High Priestess.

Junghoon frowns a bit, sighing. “As stressful as usual.” He says, leaning against the wall as he pulls his leather gloves off from the fingertips.

“What happened this time?” Soojin asks. She was the only one who knew the most details about these meetings with the other clan leaders.

Each of the meetings had slowly built up the tension between the leaders, and Junghoon could tell that soon that tension would snap. Perhaps the next time, Sungho really would rip Rubin’s throat out, or Rubin would attack Junghoon or Jinwoo. The thought terrified the witch. As much as he didn’t like the other leaders - or simply tolerated them, in Jinwoo’s case - he strongly followed the coven’s Rede. “An ye harm none, do as ye will.’ He never brought harm to another being if he could help it. “Sungho came pretty damn close to mauling Rubin,” Junghoon explains, folding the gloves carefully before slipping them into his jacket pocket.

Soojin’s eyes widen at the news, but she doesn’t seem too surprised otherwise. “Well, he’s never had the best temper, according to you,” she reasons, shrugging a bit. “What caused that?”

“He wasn’t a big fan of Rubin’s plan.” Junghoon says, not really sure if he should be talking about the specifics of the task he’d been given. 

Soojin, able to sense Junghoon’s hesitance, simply nods. Being an empath had its perks. She wasn’t going to pry. “I see.” She says, pausing for a moment. “Are you okay?”

Junghoon nods, brushing dirty blonde fringe away from his face. “Yeah, a bit drained from keeping them apart, but I’ll live.” He says, ignoring just how tired he felt. He still had stuff to do today.

“Wait, you kept them apart?” Soojin questions, her brows furrowing in concern. Junghoon may had been her superior in terms of the coven’s hierarchy, but Soojin had always been more of a maternal figure towards him, as she was with many of the younger coven members. “What did you do?”

“Just put up a barrier between them,” Junghoon responds, knowing better than to dodge her question. But that wasn’t going to stop him from brushing it off. “It wasn’t for very long. I’m fine, I promise.”

Soojin’s expression doesn’t let up. “But you held back the  _ Alpha  _ of the werewolves?” She asks, not continuing until Junghoon nods. “The amount of force you’re holding back can drain your energy lower than it normally would be putting up a protective barrier. You should go get some rest.”

Junghoon knew this was coming. He sighs, torn between listening to her because he knew she was just looking out for him, and using his title as an excuse to push himself even further past his limit. “I’ll be fine Soojin. I have to meet with Chanwoo and Wheein today, anyway. And I have other stuff to finish-”

Soojin cuts him off with her narrow stare and arms crossed over her chest. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll meet with them and finish whatever you need done. I don’t have anything else to do today.” She says, standing up a bit straighter. The male was taller than her, but she still had a natural aura of authority surrounding her. 

Junghoon sighs once again in defeat. “Okay, fine.” He gives in, slipping his long jacket off. 

Soojin’s expression softens as she places a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze. “You work too hard, Junghoon.” She says, chuckling airily. “You deserve the time to yourself. And I fear if I weren’t here you would work yourself to death.”

Junghoon lets out an amused huff, grinning at the older witch before him. “Thank you, Soojin. I don’t say it enough.”

The elder female shakes her head, smiling at Junghoon. “Don’t worry about it. I’m always happy to help.” She says, lowering her hand and swatting him lightly on the shoulder. “Now go to bed.”

Junghoon laughs and nods. “Okay, I’m going. Find me in the morning sometime.” He says, bowing a bit as he heads towards his room. His jacket and gloves are set away in their designated spots, and he doesn’t even bother to change out of his sturdy clothes only used for traveling. The long journey on foot, the stress of the meeting, and the energy exerted on that shield were finally starting to get to Junghoon. He can only manage one thought of how grateful he was that Soojin pressured him to sleep as he lays back on his bed, almost immediately falling into a much-needed slumber.

* * *

As soon as he was home, door locked behind him and finally hearing nothing but  _ silence _ , Jehyun sighs, letting all the of stress tensing his shoulders release. He could finally relax for a while. Admittedly, he did feel bad for Hanbin having to deal with an even more overconfident cursed Bobby, but he’d handled a lot worse before. Jehyun wasn’t worried about them.

Jehyun collapses onto the worn couch, rubbing out a kink in his neck he’d gotten earlier. He wasn’t sure when he got it - maybe during that chase with the werewolf earlier - but he could definitely feel it now that he wasn’t worrying about being mauled or dealing with the other two males on his team. He needed something to distract him, and he didn’t want to be thinking about supernaturals for a long while.

He glances at the clock on the wall, surprised to see that it was only seven. They usually got back around ten or eleven, but they  _ had  _ left the forest far earlier than normal this time. Jehyun groans as he lays back on the couch, his muscles burning as he finally relaxes. These trips really took a toll on him - maybe he just needed to loosen up for a few hours tonight. 

The hunter stands up and stretches his arms above his head, debating if a trip to the bar at this hour would really be a good idea, or if his stress was a good enough reason to get drunk and possibly find a one night stand. Not his proudest moment ever, but Jehyun couldn’t really think of much else at the moment that interested him. Without giving himself a chance to change his mind, he picks up his phone and calls a taxi, having enough sense to not drive himself there. He didn’t have a designated driver, after all.

By the time the taxi arrived, Jehyun had taken a brief shower and changed into more casual and far more comfortable clothing, still managing to make it look good on him. He’d always had a knack for styling clothes. Minnie and Moonbyul often asked him for fashion advice when they couldn’t decide on outfits for a certain event.

There wasn’t much conversing between Jehyun and the taxi driver other than quick exchanges about the destination and the fare the ride would be. Otherwise, it was silent, besides the faint music playing from the radio until the car parked outside of the club. Jehyun had only been here a few times, but it hadn’t ever disappointed him.

After thanking the driver and paying the fare, Jehyun steps out into the night, straightening his loose shirt collar as he steps inside. The music is loud enough that the bass can be felt through the floor, and the smell of alcohol and sweat is potent in the air. It was strong at first, but Jehyun had smelled worse. Werewolves weren’t pleasant at all. Taking a breath, Jehyun sighs and heads to the bar, doing his best to ignore the bodies on the dance floor swaying with impaired coordination and grinding against others.

Jehyun slides onto one of the stools, waiting until a bartender came to him to order anything. Tonight he didn’t feel like going all out - he was alone, after all - so he stuck with a glass of cheongju. It wasn’t too long after he’d received his drink that he noticed another male take a seat a few spots down from him. Normally, Jehyun wouldn’t be so easily distracted by a guy, but this man had a certain vibe about him that made Jehyun way more interested than he should have been.

The man converses with the bartender in the most polite way Jehyun had ever seen a customer speak with the workers, and he couldn’t help but notice the man’s large smile. It was almost intoxicating. Was there something in his drink making him think this way? Maybe he’d been staring too long.

“You alright there?” 

He had definitely been staring for too long. Jehyun didn’t even realize the man had been speaking to him until he turns to meet his gaze. He hopes the redness creeping into his cheeks isn’t noticeable - gods, he felt like a nervous schoolgirl with some dumb crush. “Uh, yeah, I am. Sorry.” Jehyun apologizes, slapping himself mentally for how stupid he was acting.

The man’s laugh is like music to Jehyun’s ears. It wasn’t a cruel laughter, but rather something kind and amused. “What’s your name, beautiful?” The man asks, angling himself towards Jehyun as he sips from his glass.

Well shit, if anything else hadn’t made Jehyun flustered yet, that definitely did. How were words supposed to be formed? “Jehyun,” the hunter says, forcing himself to look away and try to put on a more neutral expression. “Yours?”

Jehyun’s gaze stays steady on the man as he gets up from his stool and takes the one right next to him. Suddenly, it felt a lot more hot in the building. “The name’s Rubin,” the male says, sticking his hand out towards Jehyun.

Jehyun pauses for a moment, then grips Rubin’s hand and shakes it. “Rubin,” he says, tasting the name on his tongue. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“And you too,” Rubin says, taking another sip from his drink with that knowing smirk on his face. Jehyun was not subtle at all. “So, Jehyun, what brings you here?” He asks after a moment, catching the hunter’s attention again.

Jehyun wasn’t ever a great liar in his youth, but now that he had to keep his entire life’s work a secret, he could lie through his teeth without effort now. In the past, it was a bit harder. “I just returned from a fairly exhausting business trip,” he explains, barely able to meet Rubin’s gaze as he sips from his drink. Jehyun wasn’t sure whether he hated the effect the male had on him or not.

Rubin nods in understanding. “Ah, sounds tiring.” He agrees, setting his glass down and leaning just a bit closer to Jehyun. It’s almost as if he was  _ trying  _ to make Jehyun even more flustered than he already was. “I’d say you chose the right place to come unwind.”

Jehyun chuckles awkwardly, nodding just a bit as he scratches at the back of his neck. “It usually helps me relax, in a weird way. So yes, I would agree.” He says, taking notice of Rubin’s lips curling up just the slightest bit more.

“Oh, so you’ve been here before?” Rubin questions, tilting his head just a bit inquisitively.

Jehyun nods. “Yeah, I come here every now and then. Usually after work.” He explains, eyes never leaving Rubin’s face. He wanted to memorize every flawless feature and commit it to memory.

“And I’ve never seen your pretty face before?” Rubin asks once again, tsking.

Jehyun could have sworn there was a fire burning down the club somewhere. His eyes widen a bit at the compliment as he turns away, covering his mouth with the back of his hand in a pathetic attempt to hide his blush.

Rubin’s laugh is beautiful and clear, a blessing to Jehyun’s ears. “Perhaps it’s a bit early for this, but you’re cute when you blush.” He mentions, deciding to continue when the only response he gets is Jehyun’s eyes meeting his gaze again. “And it’s easy to do.”

“Gods, usually I’m not like this,” Jehyun admits, sighing as he rests his forehead in his hand. “It’s a bit embarrassing.”

It’s hard not to melt at Rubin’s smile, how wide and bright it is. It’s almost contagious. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, his voice soothing. “I find it rather endearing.”

Jehyun glances back up at him, pausing for a moment as the wheels spin in his head. How cruel was fate? He had always resorted to one night stands because there was no way he was going to be able to hold a stable relationship when his livelihood relied on slaughtering supernatural creatures in the forest. It just never seemed to work out well. Yet this man… had some sort of profound effect on him and Jehyun wasn’t sure why. But he wasn’t complaining. “And you’re sweet,” Jehyun responds, his voice more stable than it had been previously.

The two seemed to click almost immediately. After that, it was easy to spring into conversations about nearly everything under the sun. Well, everything except their own little secrets. Jehyun knew how to mask his second life as a werewolf hunter as a normal occupation, and Rubin had always been good at leaving out information that would expose him to any humans as a vampire. They were both good liars, but neither of them would know that. 

Minutes turned into hours, and soon enough they found themselves on the dance floor, drinks abandoned as they move against each other. Their movements were sloppy and delayed, the alcohol now coursing through their systems and making them see stars. Or maybe it was each other; they couldn’t tell. Compared to the rest of the people dancing, their movements were slow. Rubin holds onto Jehyun’s wrists with a gentle tenderness, and Jehyun keeps his forehead rested against Rubin’s shoulder. Whispers exchanged between them were nearly impossible to hear, but Jehyun loved the little nothings.

Time had now been long forgotten. The shining moon hung high in the sky as Jehyun stumbled out of the club with Rubin holding him up by the elbow, though Rubin was probably just as drunk as Jehyun. It takes significant effort for Rubin to tell the taxi driver his address, but luckily managed not to irritate the driver with his slurred speech and delayed thoughts. Jehyun couldn’t keep his hands off Rubin for the entire ride, throwing all caution to the wind with stigma around affection in public. With a hand draped across Rubin’s knee or gripping onto his bicep, Jehyun found himself laughing at nearly everything Rubin was saying, and still stupidly amused as the older male led him through his front door and into his apartment.

As soon as the door was closed and locked, Rubin didn’t hesitate to pin Jehyun to the wall, kissing him as if he had been deprived for years rather than just one night. Kissing him like he was the only thing that mattered.

And Jehyun gave himself to him, completely unaware of the mess he was allowing himself to fall into. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anna ou !! jehyun bby what u doin
> 
> follow my 1team ig fanacc !! @junghoon.steponme


	3. trois.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Underneath his hostile aura, Sungho actually does care about more than just killing off some hunters.
> 
> Jinwoo fills in his friends, feigning a sense of calm despite dread wearing on his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha i lied no way am i getting this done in three chapters
> 
> the merfolk were actually a lot less conceptualized than i originally thought when i started writing this fic, so jinwoo's section is mainly just recap, exposition, and... a bunch of bullshit. i'm sorry if it seems dumb.
> 
> but i hope you enjoy the angst tho :D

Sungho still felt as if steam was blowing off his ears as he pads through the forest, coming closer to the territory. After he’d ran out on the meeting, he’d shifted as soon as he could so he could get away faster. His territory was the furthest away out of all of theirs, so the long trip back home was making him impatient.

He wasn’t sure how long it was, but finally the familiar heavy scent of the werewolf territory washes over Sungho.  _ Finally,  _ he thinks, speeding up his slow gait to a full-on run, bounding through the thicker brush until he breaks through into his territory. There weren’t many people outside, though there were a few in wolf form wandering around. Those few look towards him as he enters, bowing their heads at him in a form of respect. Sungho nods back at them, heading towards the large mansion near the center of the territory. As he arrives closer, he begins to shift back to his human form, grimacing and groaning at the pain of his body rearranging itself into a human shape. It never took long, though.

Sungho stays kneeled on the ground for a moment, catching his breath before standing upright again and pushing open the door to the mansion. Jinhwan stands by the foyer, leaning against the doorframe as he scrapes out dirt from under his nails with his Swiss army knife. There may have been some blood mixed in with that dirt as well, knowing Jinhwan. The older male looks up once he hears the door close, looking over his shoulder to see Sungho. “Finally done with that shit, eh?” He asks, turning around as he flips the blade back into the plastic sheathing and slips it in his pocket.

“That’s an understatement.” Sungho responds, clicking the lock shut on the door behind him. “Where is she?”

“Still in her room,” Jinhwan answers, knowing exactly who Sungho was talking about without asking. “Hasn’t responded to me or Donghyuk since we found Mingi.”

Sungho simply nods, humming a sound of acknowledgement. “Has Hwasa had any luck?”

“Mm, a little, I think,” Jinhwan says, having to think about the answer. His job had been to guard the front portion of the mansion while Sungho was gone, and Jinhwan wasn’t one to disobey orders with an Alpha like Sungho around. “Donghyuk would be able to tell you for sure, but he’s out hunting right now.”

“Thanks,” Sungho says, feeling a bit dejected. “I’ll go see if I can talk to her. Any other news?”

Jinhwan pauses for a moment, taking a breath before shaking his head. “Nope.” He finally responds with a shrug. “It’s been pretty quiet for the most part.”

“Good to hear,” Sungho says, approaching him and placing his hand on Jinhwan’s shoulder as a silent gesture of gratitude before heading up the stairs. He counts the doors on the left before he reaches the fourth one, though he should recognize the bare surface right now. It stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the other doors decorated in some way. He hesitates for a moment before knocking.

“Soyeon?” Sungho calls out, giving the female inside a moment in case she would respond right away, though he doubted she would. He was right. Silence was the only thing that greeted him. “Soyeon, please, I at least need to know that you’re alive.”

Soyeon hadn’t left her room once since they had found her twin brother, Mingi, dead outside of the territory. It was a natural reaction, especially since Soyeon and Mingi were so close, even for twins. Everything they did, they did with each other, and were attached at the hip. They had their sibling squabbles, just like everyone did, but it was so incredibly rare to see them truly argue. You couldn’t have Mingi without Soyeon and Soyeon without Mingi… until now.

Again, silence.

“Soyeon, please.” Sungho speaks again, the pitch of his voice changing. She had been one of his best friends for years, and was a close confidant. Her and Mingi had both been made Head Warriors within Sungho’s own pack, and were incredibly loyal and trusting. He couldn’t stand to see Soyeon like this. “I know this is hard… it’s hard for all of us. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now.”

Sungho isn’t sure he’s hearing things right when the lock clicks and the door slowly creaks open, revealing the mess that Soyeon had become. Her short, dyed blonde hair was a matted mess, the bags under her eyes were dangerously obvious, and her shoulders were slumped forward with her pathetic posture. Her gold-flecked brown eyes gaze up at Sungho, bloodshot from crying so much.

The Alpha takes a step back, allowing Soyeon her personal space. However, the female says nothing as she walks forward and hooks her arms around Sungho’s middle, burying her face into the fabric of his shirt. Sungho is taken aback for a moment, hovering his arms at his sides in shock before awkwardly hugging her back. He wasn’t one for physical comfort, but right now Soyeon needed it the most. She hadn’t opened the door for anyone else, as far as he knew. He sighs and settles into the hug, embracing her tightly. “I’m sorry…” He mutters, resting his chin on her head. “I should have kept better track of everyone.”

“No,” Soyeon croaks, her voice hoarse from the lack of use. “There wasn’t anything you could have done… he insisted on hunting down that human.” She murmurs, her voice muffled through the flannel. 

Admittedly, Sungho isn’t sure what to say. Surrounded by his own kind, he was quiet and reserved, and often wasn’t sure how to react when it came to emotions. Right now, that was hitting him hard. “He was a good man,” Sungho settles on, treading carefully. Unlike Mingi and similar to himself, Soyeon was rather impulsive and hotheaded. He didn’t want to piss her off at all, especially with her in this state. 

Much to the Alpha’s relief, Soyeon simply nods. “That bastard was willing to do anything to keep us safe,” she says, pulling back and putting space between herself and Sungho again. She folds her hands behind her back, keeping her head ducked. “I just feel like half of me is missing now.” She says, her voice wavering as she dabs against her eyes with the heel of her palm. 

Sungho simply watches, not sure what to do. He didn’t want to grab her hands or hug her again like he was tempted to if she didn’t want him to, so he only watches helplessly as Soyeon begins to cry again. 

“I’m sorry,” Soyeon whispers, barely able to get the words out before turning back into her room, closing the door behind her. Sungho hears her break down into sobs again from the other side of the door, feeling completely useless as he leans against the door, placing his weight on his hands. He remembered first breaking the news to her vividly. She had gone through the first three stages of grief almost instantly, going straight from denial into depression. Sungho would never forget the way her face crumbled as the words  _ “Mingi is dead”  _ finally processed through her head. He would never forget feeling absolutely useless as he listened to Soyeon scream, plead, and sob to whatever was out there to bring Mingi back or take her with him. Just like he was doing now.

Sungho lets out a shaky exhale as he hastily wipes away the tears forming in his eyes. “Soyeon, I’m always here when you need me,” he says, trying to force stability into his voice. “You know that, don’t be afraid to call for me.” He says, then turns on his heel to head back down the hall. Just as he gets to the stairs, he almost topples over into Hwasa, who had just come up the flight of stairs.

The woman lets out a yelp as she steps back, gripping the railing to keep from falling backwards. “Sungho,” Hwasa says, steadying herself on the step. Her mouth opens to say something feisty as usual, though she halts once she notices Sungho’s frown and bit lip, also the watery look to his eyes. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Sungho hesitates before thinking of an answer, then shakes his head. “I feel so horrible,” he finally says. “Like I could have stopped it from happening. Hearing her break down like that is… heartbreaking.” He admits. Normally he would hate how poetic that all sounded, but he couldn’t think of anything better at the moment.

Hwasa pauses, frowning as she finally hears the muffled sobs from Soyeon’s room. She nods in agreement, crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s let me in a few times today. I do my best to distract her and take care of her but there’s only so much I can do.” She says, keeping her gaze averted towards the floor.

“Thank you, Hwasa.” Sungho says, every ounce of sincerity pouring out with his voice. “Really. I appreciate it, we all do.” 

Hwasa musters a small, yet hesitant smile. “Same goes for you, you know,” she says, looking back up at him for a moment. “You do so much for us and still think it isn’t enough. You gotta get rid of that mindset.” She says.

Sungho huffs in amusement, smiling sadly. “If our people are dying, then I’m not doing enough.” He says, his eyes flashing a dangerous golden color as he meets Hwasa’s gaze. “It will never be enough until those hunters are put six feet under.”

* * *

Jinwoo was most at peace in the water. It was only natural, of course. He was born and raised in the ocean, taught everything that merfolk knew about land without actually going up there. It was only when he was a young child that merfolk were finally allowed to go on land, and it was a miracle that Jinwoo still allowed members of his clan to go on land. He didn’t like to control them. They knew how many of their kind had been murdered by the ones on land, and if they still wanted to go up there, then they were free to. They could answer to their own actions.

The land was still strange to Jinwoo. He didn’t like the rugged terrain, the abrasive plantlife, and his least favorite, the disgusting mud and dirt that always managed to stick to him whenever he had to go to those damned meetings. He felt like it would never come off of him until he was submerged beneath the water again. Luckily, the spot all the leaders chose for the meeting was closest to the ocean for Jinwoo’s sake, since he fell victim to water withdrawals easily. The last time he had been on land for too long… well, he had the scars to remind him.

And thus he was at the water’s edge, bare feet digging into the sand as the grains dug up between his toes. Jinwoo takes in the sight of the setting sun hitting the surface of the water, sparkling as the waves ripple softly. It brings a grin to his face, putting him in a better mood before he runs forward into the water, diving into it as soon as he’s deep enough. 

The refreshing feeling Jinwoo craved so much washes over him as soon as he sinks beneath the water’s surface. It didn’t take long for those damned legs to meld together and the gills on his neck and side of his ribcage to finally start working. He hated the feeling of holding his breath underwater. It didn’t feel right. Once Jinwoo felt the human breathing functions comfortably shift back to his more natural aquatic ones, he opens his eyes to see small fins running along the back of his arms and of course, his legs replaced by a striped brown tail.

Jinwoo doesn’t hesitate to take off towards the large expansion of seemingly nothing that was the ocean, keeping his eye out for a telltale landmark. It was a bit embarrassing that he was the leader of the clan yet still didn’t know how to get back home from the beach, but his excuse was that he rarely went on land, so why would he? Well… coming back from the meetings was why. This circular reasoning was common in Jinwoo’s mind - anyone else being stuck in it would be extremely lost.

As soon as he spotted the specific cutout in the drop-off, Jinwoo takes a sharp turn down the underwater cliff, grinning when he sees the soft glow of the ruins and caves they lived in. It sounded crude, but as a species, merfolk didn’t prefer much of anything for shelter - only somewhere they could turn in for the night, and something to hide in if danger arose. As he came closer, he greeted various people he saw, smiling courteously before finding the two girls he was looking for.

“Miyeon, Yuqi!” Jinwoo calls, catching the girls’ attention. The younger of the two lights up when she sees him, swimming towards him before capturing his hand and spinning him around with the force of her momentum.

“Finally!” Yuqi exclaims. “I thought you’d  _ never  _ come back!” She says dramatically, glances back as Miyeon approaches them, chuckling.

Jinwoo laughs at Yuqi’s enthusiasm, never bored by the youngest member of the bunch. “Please, it wasn’t that long.”

“But it felt like it!” Yuqi whines, turning to look at Miyeon as the older girl puts a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re too excited, Yuqi,” Miyeon says, her voice calming enough to make Yuqi sigh and drop Jinwoo’s hand. 

Jinwoo’s smile widens as he watches the two interact, always feeling a warm sensation is his chest as he witnessed Miyeon mothering Yuqi and, well… everyone else within the clan. She was the one everyone could count on the most, while Yuqi was the life of the party. There was never a dull moment around the bubbly young girl. He pulls her forward into a quick hug, letting go soon after so they wouldn’t sink down. “Thank you for making me feel loved, Yuqi,” He says sarcastically, chuckling before looking around, suddenly realizing that there was one person missing. “Where’s Yunhyeong?”

Miyeon seems a bit startled as she glances over her shoulder. “He was just over there a moment ago- maybe he’s in one of the caves?” She suggests, glancing back at Jinwoo.

“I saw him go over there, but I don’t know if he came back,” Yuqi says, frowning a bit as she too glances back. 

“He’ll show up eventually,” Miyeon says, her shoulders slumping for a moment in a silent sigh. “How did the meeting go, though?” She asks, meeting Jinwoo’s gaze again.

Jinwoo’s smile melts away at the mention of it. He groans, not sure whether he wants to talk about it or not. “Dear gods, I need to quit going on land,” he mutters. “I’m about ready to stop going. This time Sungho tried to kill Rubin. A lot scarier than Junghoon cursing Rubin like last time...”

This time both Miyeon and Yuqi’s eyes widen at the news. Yuqi grabs Miyeon’s hand, drifting a bit closer to the elder female. “How serious was it?”

“Not very,” Jinwoo answers, scratching at the back of his head. “He didn’t shift when he attacked, but he’s still strong in his human form. So it would have been a fair fight…” He mutters, then shakes his head. “Anyway, all we have to do is watch the surface for the hunters whenever we have the chance to see if we can identify them. Or at least commit their faces to memory. There’s not much else we can do.”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, he feels something - or someone - ram into him from behind, surging him forward from the force of the impact. It didn’t hurt, but it certainly surprised Jinwoo. He whips around only to see Yunhyeong with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Welcome back, o’ great leader!”

Jinwoo can’t help but to laugh as he rights himself. Yunhyeong had always been extra with… everything. Especially the nicknames he gave people. Normally, Jinwoo wasn’t comfortable with being referred to with any kind of leader title, but by now he knew that Yunhyeong only did it in good fun. “Thanks, Yunheyong,” Jinwoo chuckles, clapping the other merman on the shoulder. 

“Did I miss the recap?” The eldest asks, crossing his arms over his bare chest dotted with dark green scales. 

“Unfortunately,” Miyeon answers for Jinwoo, gathering her long hair behind her shoulders once more as it threatens to drift in front of her face. “We actually have a job now, though.” She says, motioning towards Jinwoo.

“Watch the surface when you can, see if you can see any of the hunters’ faces when they come around,” Jinwoo summarizes, frowning when he has to use the word ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. He’d much rather it be an ‘if’.

“Will do, captain!” Yunhyeong exclaims, saluting. “I hate to be a hit-and-run, but I promised Lu I’d help her out by the reef, so I gotta blast. Bye, girls; nice seeing you alive, Jinwoo!” he calls out as he swims away from them, shortly disappearing from sight. It takes a moment, but Miyeon chuckles as she registers the pun, though the other two didn’t seem to catch it.

Yuqi giggles once he’s gone, air bubbling out from her lips as she does so. “He’s fun to have around,” she says, grinning when Jinwoo nods.

“He is,” Jinwoo agrees, then glancing around the rest of the ruins. “I think I should go check around for a bit, too.” He says, smiling softly at both the females. “I’ll meet up with you two later, okay?” He asks.

“Of course,” Miyeon answers, nodding. “We’ll see you around, Jinwoo.” She says, waving politely as Jinwoo begins to back away.

“Bye, Jinwoo!” Yuqi exclaims, smiling broadly as Jinwoo returns their wave before swimming off.

Jinwoo’s clan was small for sure, but they were all incredibly close because of that. Being a neutral party in the war had its advantages, such as a lower casualty count. Not many hunters were aware of their existence either, so that was always a relief. However… Jinwoo could never shake the sense of dread he felt whenever he glanced up at the calm surface of the water, almost as if that calm would be ruptured by an arrow breaking the surface tension and impaling him through the heart. He could only hope that his clan would make it out of this unscathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is when the g o o d s h i t starts i promise


	4. quatre.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junghoon finds a safe haven where he can finally relax a bit.
> 
> Sungho is at his wits' end when the hunters show up, and decides its finally time to take action.
> 
> Without Jehyun with them, Minnie finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of a longer chapter for yall!! this one turned out to be ~5600 words and thats over double the amount i've written for past chapters oop--
> 
> so grab some popcorn. y'all in for a rIDE

The first thing Rubin hears when he enters the Victorian era mansion is two voices yelling at each other over… something. Rubin didn’t pay attention to what - he was just relieved to hear Junhoe and Shuhua arguing, as per usual. It told him that they were alive, at least. Hearing them burst out into an argument was not uncommon on any given day, at first irritating but was now rather amusing to Rubin.

“Oh my gods, you’re an idiot! Just shut up and listen to me for a second!” Shuhua’s voice raises above Junhoe’s. Rubin makes his way towards the kitchen where he heard the yelling coming from, leaning against the doorframe as the siblings continue on.

“No, you never take the time to listen to me, you can shut your damn mouth for a while!” Junhoe retorts, his eyes narrowing at Shuhua. “You always take my shit and lie about it! To my face, no less!”

Shuhua scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she stands up straighter in a sad attempt to make herself appear bigger. Junhoe had at least twenty centimeters on his younger sister; she was always going to be small and lanky compared to him. “Like you don’t do the same thing!” She fires back, her voice considerably more sharp than Junhoe’s louder one.

“Children, please,” Rubin speaks up, biting back a laugh as he watches the two vampires whip their heads towards him, turning red in embarrassment at being caught - as was expected, with them yelling so loudly. “What happened this time? Shuhua take one of your blood bags?” He asks, standing up straight and walking towards them with a grin on his face.  
  
Shuhua settles back to her normal height, holding her hands behind her back as she moves behind Junhoe, silently volunteering her older brother to answer. Junhoe groans under his breath as he glances back at Rubin, able to tell easily that the High Lord was more entertained than anything else. “Maybe,” he mutters, averting his gaze once again.

Rubin barks out a laugh, unable to bite it back anymore. As much as he loved the city, he also loved to come back home to his clan members where he could truly unwind. “Can you two not go a day without arguing over something dumb?” He asks, grinning.

“It’s not dumb!” Shuhua bites back, stepping up again. “He always attacks me for everything!”

“You do the same thing, Shuhua!” Junhoe whips back to his younger sister, glaring at her again.

“ _ Alright _ , calm down,” Rubin raises his voice over them, defusing the spark before the bomb explodes again. “Just go find another rabbit or something. There’s no hunters around right now, and you two are strong enough. No need to argue.” He says, watching as Junhoe sighs.

“Yeah, maybe later,” Junhoe says, turning around to look at Shuhua who had hauled herself up to sit on the kitchen counter. “You’re coming with me.”

Shuhua rolls her eyes as she leans back, but nods anyway. She crosses her arms as she turns to face Rubin. “Anyone die this time?”

Being reminded of the meeting causes Rubin to frown and sigh. “Well,  _ I _ almost did.” He starts, sitting down in the closest chair.

“Let me guess, Sungho?” Junhoe asks, muttering something under his breath when Rubin nods. Probably something not so nice towards the werewolf Alpha.

“Yeah, he didn’t like that I don’t want to kill the hunters outright. It’s not smart.” Rubin says, glancing between the two siblings who simply watched him as he spoke. “They’re clever. One of them will probably get away, gather more if they don’t come on their own accord, and then we’d essentially be fucked.”   
  


The two consider his words for a moment, then Shuhua nods. “Yeah, that’s probably the best route. So he just wants to massacre them all?”

Rubin nods again. “Yeah, basically.” He says, pressing his fingers against his temples. “I don’t like to talk about those meetings. Anyone die while I was gone?” He asks, effectively changing the subject.

“Fortunately, no,” Junhoe says. “We can survive three days on our own, Rubin.”

While the other leaders had gone back to their territories immediately, Rubin instead went to the city. It wasn’t uncommon for him and many other turned vampires like him to bounce back between the modern world and the hidden world of his clan in the forest. Despite the stigma around turned vampires, Rubin more than proved himself worthy of a leadership position - managing to juggle two lives as a freelance human artist and the High Lord of the vampire clan while not letting it crumble like sand between his fingers was admirable and respected by the elders. 

“I know that, but I worry that the werewolves will jump you guys when I’m gone.” Rubin says, shaking his head a bit.  
  
“What about you, then?” A new voice asks, causing Rubin to startle as he looks up and over his shoulder. Solar is in the doorway, looking as if she had just been walking by when she noticed Rubin had returned.

“Hi, Solar,” Rubin says, smiling at the woman as he sits up straighter. “Care to elaborate?”

“Your time in the city, obviously,” Solar says, smiling softly as she walks into the kitchen and sits down in a chair beside him, facing both Rubin and the siblings. “Anything interesting happen?”

Interesting was an understatement. Rubin often fooled around with people in the city when he was in the mood, and that was originally what he planned to do with Jehyun. But he couldn’t get the male out of his head. The morning after their night spent together, they made more of an effort to get to know each other, something neither of them had seemed to have done with a "one night stand" before. There was something special about Jehyun. He was gentle in almost everything he did, and every movement he made was graceful; later, Jehyun told him that he was a dance instructor, explaining his effortless and elegant movements. His voice was bright like a bell, and Rubin wondered many times what his singing voice would sound like. When they reluctantly had to part, both of them made sure that they had some sort of method of communication with the other.

Apparently Rubin had taken too long to answer. He looks up when he hears Shuhua question, “Another one night stand or…?”

“Uh…” Rubin starts off, not really sure how to explain it, or if he even wanted to. He’d never really been in a relationship since he’d been turned. “Kind of…? A little more than that, I guess…”

Solar’s eyes widen as she grins. “Oh, so you found a boyfriend~?” She chimes, her voice taking on a sing-song tone. Shuhua giggles at Solar’s teasing while Junhoe huffs in amusement.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Junhoe says before Rubin can even answer. “He calls himself ‘prince’ for a reason,” He says, grinning while shaking his head.

“Look, I can’t help that, alright?” Rubin jokes back, chuckling before shrugging. “I mean, I don’t know, though. All I can say is that… there was just something about him. I wasn’t about to let him go or kick him out like the others.”

“Tell us more!” Shuhua exclaims, leaning forward on her knees and placing her chin in her hands. She glares at Junhoe when he flicks her shoulder, frowning at her a bit.

Rubin just laughs and shakes his head. “No.” He says, knowing that Shuhua hated the teasing. “You’ll just have to wait a while.” He winks then stands up, heading towards the doorway. “I have some things to take care of. Solar, I’d like to speak to you in an hour.” He says, then turns on his heel to head up the stairs to the third floor of the mansion once Solar nods.

It’s silent between the remaining three for a moment, almost a comfortable silence until Junhoe interrupts it by grabbing Shuhua off the counter and setting her on the ground. She was so small compared to him that she couldn’t do more than yelp in surprise and protest, then glare up at him with her pretty little doe eyes. “We’re going hunting,” Junhoe says simply to Solar, then scooping Shuhua up and carrying her over his shoulder.

Solar chuckles as she watches Shuhua shriek in protest, smacking her fists against his back. “Sounds good. Be careful, though!” She calls out after them, watching as Junhoe heads to the front door and leaves the mansion. As crazy as it was around the territory, Solar wouldn’t have it any other way.

* * *

As the days and weeks passed, Junghoon felt more and more anxious. The nerves were beginning to manifest physically, causing his hands to tremble when he would least expect it. It definitely was less than ideal, especially when he needed his hands to be steady for… almost everything he did within the clan.

As Junghoon meticulously drags the dip-pen across the tea stained pages, his hands begin to shake again. His mind had started to wander to the thought of the hunters once more, in particular the woman with long black hair that always sported a bow of some kind. The one that nearly killed Haru. As the line becomes jagged and uneven, Junghoon curses as he drops the pen. That was the third sigil he had ruined in the past half hour.

Wheein looks up from her own paper, raising a single eyebrow at the High Priest as he buries his face in his hands. “Again?” She asks, her voice gentle. It wasn’t an accusatory question, rather curious and almost concerned.

Junghoon simply nods, looking back up to see Chanwoo walk back through the door, closing it behind him. Chanwoo’s brows furrow when he sees Junghoon’s pen haplessly abandoned on top of the half-finished sigil. “Okay, something’s seriously wrong.” The male says, sitting down beside him before sliding a full jar of ink over to Wheein. 

“Thanks,” the female says, smiling when Chanwoo nods in response to her gratitude. She then turns back to Junghoon, dipping the pen in the fresh ink before continuing with her sigil. “Is it the hunters again?”

Junghoon nods again. “I can’t get them out of my head. I can’t… get Haru out of my head.” He finally admits, glancing at the elder two witches before him. Haru wasn’t dead, but the extent of her injuries made her as good as dead. There were still treatments and healing rituals being used on her in hopes that it would help her recover and wake her up again, but the coma still held Haru hostage. 

Wheein pauses for a moment, then sets her pen down and reaches a hand across the table to grab onto Junghoon’s. The woman’s love language had always been physical touch, whether it was hugging someone to help them cheer up or simply holding their hands like she was doing now. “I know it’s hard,” She says, her voice gentle as her other hand comes up to clasp the other side of Junghoon’s. “We all wish we could have been there to prevent it from happening, but… we couldn’t. You can’t keep beating yourself up over it, either. You can’t go back in time; what’s done is done. For now, we just have to hold on to hope that she’ll wake up.”

Chanwoo watches the two silently, noting Junghoon’s slightly dipped head and averted gaze as he listens to Wheein’s comforting words. The woman always had a way of influencing emotions with just her voice alone, no magick needed. Chanwoo was fascinated by it. “And the next time they show up, we’ll have a better way of protecting ourselves.” The older male interjects, causing both Junghoon and Wheein to turn their attention towards him. “Sigils won’t be enough, since that girl seems to know how to deactivate them. But we will have more people trained in the defense arts.” He finishes, phrasing his last statement almost as an inquisitive order.

“Yes, we will.” Junghoon nods in agreement. “I just… can’t shake the anxiety, I guess.”

“Maybe you need to take some time to breathe,” Wheein suggests, pulling her hands back and folding them on the table in front of her. “You need it; Soojin would tell you the same thing and you know that.” She says.

The mention of Soojin and her insistence that not only Junghoon, but everyone within the coven take the time to recharge brings a soft smile to Junghoon’s face. “You’re right. I’ll be back in a few hours, then.” He says, standing up from his spot on the chair. “You two can get the rest of these done on your own?” He asks, gesturing to the sheets of paper and jars of ink on the table with just a nod of his head.

Chanwoo nods, ushering him off. “Yes, it’ll be easy. Now go.”

Junghoon gives a half-hearted smile as he bows towards his elders, stepping out of the room as he says his last farewells. It doesn’t take him long to grab his jacket, pull it on, and slip out of the large front doors unnoticed. Without even really giving it much thought, he begins to walk in the direction of the ocean, knowing that the scent of the salt in the air and the sound of the gentle waves would calm him down. It usually did when he was this stressed out.

The trip took a considerable amount of time, maybe around a half hour on foot, but Junghoon barely noticed the ache in his legs from the exertion anymore. He steps from the treeline and onto the warm white sand of the beach, glancing around to the wide, cloudless blue sky and the dark blue ocean glittering beneath the sun. It was calm, save for the occasional ripples of fish nibbling at the surface, and that was exactly what Junghoon needed. 

He doesn’t even realize how hard he’s breathing until he steps up on a small pile of rocks at the water’s edge and sits down right there, hugging his knees loosely. His chest heaves as he tries to catch his breath - wait, why  _ was  _ he breathing so hard? He had only just walked here… right? Maybe the stressful thoughts and nerves clouded his thoughts enough to block out the fact that he had actually run a majority of the way here. Something was pulling him here, and he didn’t know what it was.

“Get yourself together, Hoon,” the witch mutters to himself, giving himself a couple of knocks to the side of his head. “Your coven is strong enough to capture one human. Just one.” He gives himself a pep talk before scowling at his own words. “No, gods no, that sounds horrible. Way to sound like a stereotypical devil-worshipper that does human sacrifices.” He mutters, groaning to himself. “What a bunch of bullshit… they know all our tricks.” His next words come out as almost a defeated whisper.

A sudden shift in energy and movement in his peripheral vision catches his attention. There was someone else here with him. Junghoon snaps his head up to look out at the water, seeing nothing except for a rather large ripple on the surface. His brows knit together as he scans his surroundings for any signs of life, but it was only coming from the water. It had to be one of the mermaids - but why were they this close to the surface? “Who’s there?” He calls out, leaning forward a bit as he glances around.

The silence lasts for so long that Junghoon is about to call out again before something surfaces from the water. A human head, just enough for the eyes to be seen. Those eyes glare as they watch Junghoon, but don’t stick around long enough for the witch to identify their owner before the head dips beneath the surface again. Junghoon thought he maybe had a hunch as to who it was, but he wasn’t sure.

That was, until the merman decides to surface once again, but closer to the pile of rocks. At first, it’s again only the eyes that are visible, but soon enough he raises up a bit more to expose himself from the shoulders up. “Human sacrifices, huh?” Jinwoo questions, tilting his head a bit in curiosity as his expression softens into one of amusement.

Junghoon had to admit that he was a bit shocked. He’d never seen merfolk in person before, and he’d only ever seen Jinwoo as a human. Seeing the clan leader with wet hair plastered against his face, gills flaring on his neck, and most notably, the shiny light brown scales spotting across his nose, cheekbones, forehead, and shoulders like blush caused a bit of cognitive dissonance. But it suited Jinwoo; seemed right for him, more than being human did. “It was just a moment of panic-” Junghoon says, tearing his gaze away when he realizes that he had been staring for maybe a bit too long. The witch sighs, rubbing at his temples. “We don’t do sacrifices, don’t go spreading rumors.”

Much to Junghoon’s surprise, Jinwoo laughs. It was a sound he hadn’t ever heard before - bright and clear, and almost… happy. It makes Junghoon stare at him again like he was some alien creature. Well, more alien than a merman was. “I know,” Jinwoo says, giving no sign that he noticed Junghoon’s expression towards him. “It’s not like you don’t over-defend yourself and your coven at every meeting.”

Junghoon shakes his head as if to clear it, not even caring that he was turning the current conversation around completely. “Hold on, either you’ve been sending some angry clone of yours to every meeting or you’re a completely different person outside of them.” 

This makes Jinwoo’s expression falter a bit as he shrugs. “I’m irritable on land,” he says as if it were the most normal thing on Earth. “Then throw Rubin, Sungho, and the hunters into the mix and I’m a complete mess.”

Junghoon pauses for a moment, processing Jinwoo’s words. He wasn’t sure if he believed Jinwoo, if he were being honest, but then again, the witch didn’t really have a reason  _ not  _ to believe Jinwoo now that he thought about it. At most, the merfolk clan leader had only been distant, nothing like Sungho or Rubin. Maybe it would be okay to let his own guard down.

“So I don’t make you lose your cool?” Junghoon asks, grinning just a bit to make the joking edge to his voice more obvious.

Jinwoo grins wider as he laughs again and nods. Junghoon liked hearing him laugh. “No, I don’t mind you.” The merman says, smile remaining on his face. The witch couldn’t help but notice how his nose scrunches up a bit when he smiles, making the sunlight dance and reflect off the scales freckled across his cheeks. 

“Really?” Junghoon asks, not realizing that the amusement had left his voice, and his tone became more questioning and curious. 

Jinwoo nods, humming his agreement. His expression settles from a grin to a soft closed-mouth smile. “You’re not violent, you’re the mediator.” He says, shrugging a bit. “I think if you weren’t around, then the werewolves and vampires would have cycled through a few different leaders by now.”

Junghoon is silent again, dropping his gaze to the water in the distance. He’d heard those words and others similar many times before, but there was something different about them when they came from another clan leader. Especially the one who seemed so reserved and cut off from the rest of the clans. His violet-flecked brown eyes flit back and forth, unable to meet Jinwoo’s gaze. “That actually means a lot coming from you.”

Jinwoo’s head tilts to the side again, this time in curiosity rather than amusement. “It does?”

Junghoon nods. “Hearing that from someone in a different clan, ah… tells me I’m doing good, I guess.” He admits, still barely able to meet Jinwoo’s gaze. Why was it so difficult now?

“You are, trust me.” Jinwoo says, hoping his words were enough to reassure the young witch. Perhaps that’s why he seemed so unsure of himself sometimes - the fact that he was so young compared to almost everyone around him.

They silence they fall into is comfortable, though it doesn’t last long before Jinwoo speaks up again. “What are you doing here anyway, star-boy?”

The nickname certainly catches Junghoon off guard. He wasn’t sure where it came from, whether it was a slip of the tongue or because he focused on cosmic magick, the latter he had no idea how Jinwoo would know. Jinwoo seemed taken aback by it as well, as if he hadn’t meant to say that.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I-” Jinwoo starts, turning a bit red as Junghoon cuts him off.  
  
“It’s okay,” the younger male says, his smile faltering with the now awkward tension. “Where did that come from, though?” He asks, his tone purely curious.

“Um…” Jinwoo hums absentmindedly, this time flipping the switch when he’s unable to meet Junghoon’s gaze. “I don’t know, you’ve always reminded me of stars. I can’t pin down why.”

Junghoon blinks as he processes Jinwoo’s reasoning, barely noticing Jinwoo’s darkening blush and averted gaze. Finally, Junghoon breaks into a grin and laughs, truly laughs. It wasn’t a cruel laugh, but rather one out of amused wonder. It was the only way he could think to describe it. Whatever it was, it was enough to make Jinwoo visibly relax. Junghoon smiles as he looks back down at Jinwoo.

“Star-boy. I like it.”

* * *

“They’re back.”

Sungho’s voice had a different tone whenever it came to the hunters, especially now. There had been too many deaths by their hands, and now that those stupid humans were back, he wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

It had been about three weeks since their last hunt, and since Mingi’s death. Eventually Soyeon had come out of her room, seemingly done mourning, but now… she was a different person. Everyone could tell as soon as they came across her. Her eyes held a cold and hardened look, and she never smiled. With Mingi gone, she had finally given into her darkness, and there was nothing anyone could do to bring her out of it.

Sungho glances to Soyeon standing at his side, arms crossed over her chest and watching the pack gathered in front of them with a steely gaze. It pained Sungho to see her so broken like this, but there was nothing he could do anymore. He tried. Holding back a sigh, he turns back to the group. “We’re not letting them escape this time.” He says, his eyes narrowing a bit as he makes eye contact with everyone in front of him - Jinhwan, Hwasa, Donghyuk, Aurora, Hyejun, and the most recent arrivals, Christopher and his younger brother, Felix. But there would always be someone missing without Mingi.

“If you see them, find them and kill them.” Sungho continues, not hesitating at all. While he was nothing but kind to his own clan, he was anything but outside of it. “But protect yourselves above all. If you’re in danger, don’t keep going.”

It’s a surprise when Soyeon speaks up. “Leave the leader for me.” All heads snap to her, unaccustomed to hearing her voice so eerily calm after the death of her twin. “He killed Mingi. I want to deal with him myself.” 

Normally, Jinhwan - the most sadistic out of the group, though he would never admit it - would argue on that point, wanting to put the hunter through as much pain as he could for what he did, but even he wasn’t going to risk making Soyeon upset at this point. Besides, Jinhwan knew the importance of getting revenge, even if it wasn’t always the right thing. “Will do, boss,” Jinhwan says, saluting towards Soyeon. All the members present, even Soyeon herself, look at him as if he’s been abducted and then replaced. Jinhwan just shrugs. “She said it.”

“Okay,” Sungho says, drawing the attention back to himself. “Get all of them except the leader. Bring him back alive. Now go. Be careful.”

* * *

Minnie nocks an arrow in the compound bow, simply holding it in place as she keeps her back pressed against the tree trunk. The surface was rough and was digging into her back, but that was the least of her worries. Right now, her main concern was the werewolf following her. She could curse herself for only focusing on how to properly hunt vampires. When it came to werewolves, she knew next to nothing. All she knew was that silver was the most effective way to kill them - fortunately not the only way.

She takes in a silent breath, inhaling slowly to minimize the amount of noise, as well as the shakiness of her breathing. The wolf was stalking around not too far away, sniffing the ground to follow her scent. Minnie didn’t know how to mask it like Jehyun did, and separated from Moonbyul and Hanbin, Minnie was left to her own devices.

She was beginning to question those now.

Her spine goes rigid as she hears a growl closer to her ear, noticing how much time she had spent panicking. It had been long enough to let the wolf find her location. Without thinking, Minnie whips around and pulls the string of the bow back, not hesitating to let the arrow fly into the wolf’s paw before taking off running. 

The wolf lets out a whine before a growl rips from its throat. It shakes its head as it snaps the arrow, crudely biting it out of its paw, then takes off behind Minnie. Compared to the others Minnie had seen, this one was rather small, but what it lacked for in size, it made up for in speed. It was going to gain on her quickly if she didn’t think fast.

Minnie draws another arrow from the sheath at her thigh, nocking it in the bow as she runs. That part usually was easy enough - she had done that thousands of times while running. But paired with the adrenaline pumping through her system and a  _ giant wolf _ chasing her rather than a vampire, it was a bit of a struggle. “Dammit,” she curses at herself, stopping in her tracks before the wolf got too close to let the arrow fly. There was no way Minnie could take enough time to properly aim, so she could only hope it pierced the animal. As she takes off running again, the lack of another pained whine in the air signalled that she hadn’t done much. 

She had to keep running. No matter what she couldn’t stop - she couldn’t afford to. Minnie finds it harder and harder to breathe as she keeps running, hyper focused as she looks around for  _ anywhere _ to stop and gain her bearings. She needed to get this wolf off her trail. For as far as her vision would let her see right now, there were only trees, and no clear escape except to keep running straight. Her lungs were beginning to burn and she wasn’t sure she could feel her legs anymore. Had she been running for that long?

The thumps of the wolf’s paws hitting the ground pound through Minnie’s ears, making her start to lose focus. Her breathing becomes ragged as she stumbles, toppling forward over the log that was blocking her path. Minnie coughs as she scrambles to stand up, horrified to find that she could barely get up to her knees. The wolf snarls as it jumps over her, spinning around and dipping its head as it growls at Minnie, slowly prowling towards her.

Minnie’s eyes widen as she forces herself to sit up, pushing herself back until she was once again pressed against a tree trunk. Her breathing comes out as wheezing, her lungs burning as she forces air in and out. There wasn’t any plausible way Minnie could get out of this - she had lost her knife miles back and she dropped her bow a few meters away when she stumbled. It was too far away to grab, and her arrows were pinned under her thigh. She could barely move, let alone grab an arrow to use as a knife in desperation. 

“Really bad timing, Jehyun,” Minnie mutters, locking her gaze with the wolf’s golden eyes. 

The wolf snarls again as it comes closer, snapping its jaws at her. Was it trying to scare her before mauling her to death? What was the point? Why didn’t it just get the job done? Minnie didn’t want to die, but she felt she had done enough. Her entire life was dedicated to eradicating these creatures, and she had done the best she could.

She tried.

Just as soon as Minnie closes her eyes and lets her head fall back against the tree trunk, accepting her grueling fate, a loud thump and high-pitched yelp startles her. She snaps her eyes open, gasping as she struggles to see straight. There’s a figure on top of the wolf, raising an arm up before bringing what Minnie assumes to be a knife down onto its side. The wolf lets out a loud whine, kicking its legs out as the platinum-blonde woman drags the knife down before pulling it out.

Moonbyul. Against all odds, Moonbyul had found Minnie and was taking on the wolf. Alone.

The wolf thrashes upwards, throwing Moonbyul off of it and to the ground as it twists around, managing to stand up with the slash down its side. Minnie tries to stand up again, groaning as a sharp pain shoots through her leg.

“Stay there, Minnie!” Moonbyul manages to shout, just barely getting the words out before the wolf snaps and bites down on her shoulder. She screams, as her hands frantically searching for the knife she had dropped before finding it and gripping it like a lifeline.

“Byul-” Minnie coughs, her voice straining as she again attempts to stand up again. She wanted to do something -  _ anything  _ to help her best friend, but she could barely coordinate her hand movements and her vision was becoming blurrier. Minnie wasn’t sure why that was, but with the burn in her eyes and the lump in her throat, it had to be the tears she was holding back.

Moonbyul’s arm shakes as she lifts her arm up again, letting out shuddering whimpers at the pain in her shoulder. The wolf growls through its huffs, snarling again before biting Moonbyul’s side, right as she brings the knife down on its neck. Minnie is helpless, forced to just watch as Moonbyul cries out again and the wolf shrieks, pulling back before miraculously turning and limping away into the trees. Retreating.

Moonbyul’s arm drops and the knife falls to the ground. Her breathing is incredibly labored and her clothes quickly become soaked with dark red blood, becoming oversaturated in a matter of seconds. 

“Byul, oh gods-” Minnie chokes, forcing herself onto her knees despite the biting pain to crawl over to the older woman. Her leg drags uselessly behind her, leaving a trail of blood behind her from the gash she didn’t know she had until now. But that didn’t matter. Moonbyul did. Minnie hovers over her, trembling as she grabs onto the older woman’s hand, struggling to keep a solid grip through the slick, coppery blood. “Byul, stay with me, please-” Minnie’s words are interrupted by sobs, barely intelligible as her free hand comes up to cup Moonbyul’s cheek.

Moonbyul’s brown eyes meet Minnie’s her pupils dilated as she struggles to breathe. “Minnie,” She gets out, her voice hoarse. “Call Hanbin,” she orders, still finding it somewhere in herself to take the logical step. Minnie easily gave into emotions, Moonbyul never did. She was their balance.

Minnie nods, removing her hand from Moonbyul’s cheek as she presses the button for the radio communication. “Hanbin,” she calls out, her voice strained and desperate. “Hanbin! Hanbin, we need you over here, Moonbyul’s hurt badly and I don’t know what’s going to happen-”

It didn’t take long for Minnie’s earpiece to crackle with static before Hanbin replies. “You can’t be serious- stay with her, I’m going to call Jehyun, just stay there with her. Use whatever first aid you can.” His voice goes out before Minnie can answer.

The younger female looks back down at Moonbyul, panic evident in her eyes as she struggles to remove her jacket. She presses the fabric against Moonbyul’s waist to curb the bleeding, apologizing profusely when Moonbyul lets out a strangled cry and recoils away from the pressure.

“I’m sorry-” Minnie sobs, dropping her head as she pushes more weight against the bite, but not enough to do anymore harm to the older female. “I’m so sorry. Stay with me. You have to stay with me.”

Moonbyul just looks at her, focusing intently on breathing and staying conscious. She squeezes Minnie’s hand weakly, but for now it was enough for Minnie. “Whatever happens,” she starts, struggling to form the words and ignoring Minnie’s protests. “You’ve… done great. I couldn’t ask for a sister better than you.”

Minnie chokes on her sobs, shoulders shaking as she leans forward over Moonbyul, gripping her hand like a vice. Hearing Moonbyul refer to her as her sister made everything truly sink in EVen so, Minnie was still in denial. “Byul, please, you- you’ll be okay-”

“I love you,” Moonbyul forces out, holding onto Minnie’s hand as tightly as she can muster, bringing her other hand to drape over the back of Minnie’s trembling one. “Never forget that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> , , , , , , , i'm sorry.  
> follow my 1team ig fanacc at its shiny new handle! >> @junghoonlovebug


	5. cinq.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing is worse than staring death in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it gets a bit spicy , , , , then immediately goes to angst lmao sorry
> 
> then goes to even worse angst

**_jehyun_ **

_ 14:23 _

_ i miss you already << _

It had only been a few days since Jehyun had last seen Rubin, and three weeks since he’d first met him. From Jehyun’s understanding, Rubin’s work often took him to new locations and away from the city for days to weeks at a time. However, that didn’t mean Rubin would completely ghost him when he was gone. Jehyun wasn’t clingy by any means, but his days off work and hunting were lonely, especially when Rubin wasn’t there with him. He was a bit startled by how close they had grown already - he was severely hoping it wasn’t just an infatuation.

**_rubin_ **

_ 14:26 _

_ >> i miss you too. _

_ >> your timing is impeccable, really. i’ll be back in the city in about fifteen minutes. lonely? _

Seeing the messages come across his phone screen so soon brought a grin to Jehyun’s face. The day had been so quiet with Hanbin, Moonbyul, and Minnie gone back to the forest, and Bobby off in Seoul visiting his mother. Normally he would accompany the prior three on the hunts, but with his job in the city taking up most of his time, Moonbyul convinced him to stay behind for once. Now he was grateful he had stayed at home with the promise of Rubin coming back tonight.

**_jehyun_ **

_ 14:28 _

_ very << _

Jehyun sits up from his spot on the couch after he sends the message, glancing around his quiet apartment before sighing. Being alone was nice… for a little bit. But now Jehyun was just itching to do  _ something _ . Something that wouldn’t take too long, of course.

**_jehyun_ **

_ 14:31 _

_ you’re not texting and driving are you? << _

The thought entered his mind once Jehyun realized Rubin was taking a bit to respond and seemed to be travelling. He definitely hoped that wasn’t the case, and with Rubin’s next message his concerns were alleviated.

**_rubin_ **

_ 14:32 _

_ >> no love, ofc not. i’m in a taxi. i changed my destination so i’m coming right to you. _

Jehyun smiles as he reads the message, unable to contain it. His group had noticed how ever since he met Rubin, he’d been a lot more cheerful and pleasant to be around. Not that he wasn’t before, he just always seemed bogged down. It always worried Moonbyul, but everytime she approached him about it, he would always shrug it off.  _ I’m fine,  _ he would say, and Moonbyul would just give him a worried smile in return. She knew how Jehyun didn’t like to be prodded.

**_jehyun_ **

_ 14:34 _

_ i’ll be here waiting, then << _

Jehyun found no better way to pass the time than to clean. It had been a while since he’d really taken the time to put things back in their places and tidy up any unkempt workspaces. Well, all of them except the walk-in closet he used for any and all hunting purposes. The door was always locked unless he was home alone and using it - there was no need for prying eyes unless he chose to show it to them. Maybe one day he would tell Rubin the truth, but there was no way he could do that now. For now, he was just Jehyun the choreographer, not Jehyun the most accomplished supernatural hunter in the nation.

The time went by quickly, and Jehyun was almost surprised to hear the sharp knocks on his door. He immediately dropps what he was doing and went to the door, unlocking it before opening it. Rubin stood there with an idle smile on his face which grew bigger as his eyes landed on Jehyun, the hand holding onto his small bag going lax.

“Hi, beautiful,” Rubin says, only grinning more as Jehyun laughs.

“You’re supposed to greet me, not yourself,” Jehyun retorts, smirking a bit as he grabs Rubin’s hand and pulls him inside and placing a chaste kiss on the elder’s lips.

Rubin barely has the time to place his hand against Jehyun’s cheek before the younger male pulls away, closing the door and locking it behind them. “Oh, come on,” Rubin says, feigning a whine as he drops his bag where Jehyun had told him many times before. “Kiss me like you mean it, coward.”

Jehyun can’t help but to laugh as he steps towards Rubin again, pressing himself up against the elder’s chest as he cups under his jaw and kisses him again, this time deeper and much more full of need. Okay, maybe Jehyun was a  _ bit  _ clingy. Rubin kisses him back with just as much fervor, leaning into it before reluctantly pulling back and resting his hands on Jehyun’s hips. “I missed you,” he mutters, resting his forehead against the younger’s.

Jehyun drapes his arms over Rubin’s shoulders, loosely grasping his neck. “I missed you too,” he says, keeping his eyes shut. “I’ve been lonely. You have a lot of lost time to make up for.” He says, a sly smile creeping onto his lips again.

Rubin chuckles at his words, giving him another quick peck on the lips before stepping back a bit. “Have a little patience, love,” he says, twisting some of Jehyun’s brown locks between his fingers before dropping his hands to his sides.

Jehyun nods, then tilts his head a bit. “Have you eaten anything?”

Rubin pauses for a moment, as if taken aback by that question. Jehyun asked him this every time he came over after a trip, but the answer never changed. “Yes, I ate before I left. I’m fine, trust me.”

_ I’m fine, trust me. _ The words echo in Jehyun’s mind, reminding him of his earlier train of thought. For some reason, a knot of dread was beginning to form in his stomach and he didn’t know why. He sincerely hoped it wasn’t anything important.

“Alright,” Jehyun says, quickly dismissing the feeling, deciding to put all his focus on Rubin right now. “Come here, then,” he says, making his way to the small couch and sitting down.

Rubin doesn’t hesitate to sit down beside him, smiling fondly when Jehyun immediately leans against his chest, almost curling up against him. Thought he didn’t voice it often, Rubin loved when he did this. It made him feel warmer inside, like he could just be accepted by someone without the knowledge that he was what many perceived as a monster. The thought puts a frown on Rubin’s face as he lazily brushes his fingers through Jehyun’s hair. 

Jehyun notices Rubin shift uncomfortably, then furrows his brows a bit as he lifts his head up to look at Rubin. “Is something wrong?” He questions, sitting up a bit to look at Rubin, studying his features that he had memorized so thoroughly he could sculpt him without a reference.

Rubin opens his mouth to say something, then hesitates. He so badly wanted to tell Jehyun the truth, tell him what he really was so that he didn’t have to stress about hiding it anymore. But he couldn’t. Humans didn’t usually… react well to that sort of news. Besides that, he hadn’t even known Jehyun for a month. Sure, they sort of went out of order when it came to the normal flow of a relationship, but telling your partner you’re a vampire wasn’t normally a part of that. Despite these thoughts running rampant through his head, Rubin shakes his head. “No, I’m alright. Just a bit stressed from work,” he says, giving a sort of defeated smile.

Jehyun studies his face for a moment, frowning before he nods. Rubin couldn’t tell if he believed him or not - admittedly, Jehyun was difficult to read sometimes. “Alright,” he says, dragging out the word a bit as if considering the validity to Rubin’s words.

Rubin lets out an almost silent off of amusement before sitting up a bit straighter and placing his hands on Jehyun’s hips again. “Come here,” he mutters, smiling softly when Jehyun sits up as well, swinging his leg over and straddling Rubin’s waist.

Jehyun’s hands come up to cradle Rubin’s cheeks, his thumbs brushing over the elder male’s cheekbones before dropping to his lips. Rubin simply allows him to explore, his lips parting just the slightest bit as the rough pad of Jehyun’s thumb brushes over his bottom lip, catching on it a bit. His gaze never breaks from Jehyun’s. It was a wonder how Rubin could be so enamoured by the younger male just being right in front of him. 

“Is that it?” Rubin asks, smirking when Jehyun breaks from his trance. 

Jehyun doesn’t remove his hands as he tilts his head just the slightest bit. “What?” He asks, going back to grazing his thumb over Rubin’s cheekbone. “Is there something you’d like?”

Rubin chuckles, the corner of his lips turning up at Jehyun’s teasing. “Asshole,” he mutters, surging forward to capture Jehyun’s lips with his, causing Jehyun to intake a sharp breath as he kisses back. He keeps it gentle at first, moving slowly as his hands snake around to hug Jehyun’s waist loosely. However, his need begins to take over and Rubin starts to deepen the kiss, leaning forward into Jehyun as the younger bites against his bottom lip, also seemingly impatient. Rubin smirks as he parts his lips, allowing Jehyun the freedom to nip at his bottom lip and roam around his mouth. 

Rubin soon begins to tease the younger, bringing one of his hands forward to snake up Jehyun’s stomach to his chest and tracing around his lips with his tongue. He knew Jehyun loved that last bit, but he wasn’t sure why. Either way, he was happy to please the younger. Well, for a little bit, at least. Jehyun whines impatiently when Rubin pulls back from the heated kiss, instead making his way down Jehyun’s jaw and neck, kissing around until he reaches the spot under the younger’s ear. Jehyun tilts his head back, humming in appreciation as Rubin’s other hand comes up to cup the back of his neck.

If he hadn’t fed before he left the territory, Rubin would have been having a lot more trouble holding himself back from biting Jehyun right then. His scent was absolutely intoxicating and being so close to his jugular was seriously tempting Rubin. But he was better than that. He had no need, and that was definitely not the way to break the truth to Jehyun. He instead settles with nipping at Jehyun’s sweet spot gently, focusing more on keeping his canines from extending as he marks Jehyun . The bruise glares as Rubin starts to move on to another spot but is startled away as a sudden sound breaks the silence. A ringtone; someone was calling Jehyun.

Unlike when this happened in the past, Jehyun did not simply turn the phone off and continue. This was a different ringtone, one that had Jehyun wide-eyed and suddenly a lot more worried. “Goddammit…” The younger mutters, then presses another quick kiss to Rubin’s lips before standing up. “I’m sorry, this is important.”

“Then go on and answer it,” Rubin shoos him on, sitting up and readjusting his shirt. Jehyun bows quickly in thanks, then heads out the front door, closing it behind him. Rubin thought that was a bit odd, but he didn’t question it. It must have been pretty damn important if it made Jehyun that shaken.

Jehyun answers the call from Minnie as soon as he steps outside. He had their numbers hooked up to a different line on his phone when they were on hunts without him so that he would know when something was important. And this certainly was. The sounds that greet Jehyun nearly make his heart drop to his stomach immediately. Minnie is sobbing over the phone and he can barely hear Hanbin in the back shouting orders as he struggles to start the van.

“Minnie? What’s going on?” Jehyun asks, trying not to think of the worst case scenario, but it’s becoming extremely difficult.

“I’m sorry- gods, Jehyun, I’m so sorry! I t-tried to help her!” Minnie begins, and Jehyun knew instantly that if Minnie was this unhinged, something bad happened to one of them.

“You need to calm down, Minnie, breathe,” Jehyun tells her, finding it harder to follow his own advice. “Words. What happened?”

“Moonbyul-” Minnie gets out, her breathing becoming faster as she attempts to listen to Jehyun’s orders, though sounds as if she’s failing. “I was b-being chased by a wolf, couldn’t get it off my trail. Then she just appears and nearly takes it out but it did some damage. A- A lot of damage. She’s losing a lot of b-blood and she’s barely breathing-”

“Tell him to meet us outside the forest!” Hanbin’s voice is louder in the background, and Jehyun could barely make out what he’d said through the distortion because of horrible service.

And through the entire world stopping around him.

Everything paused as one memory replayed in his head.

_ This gun was useless. Jehyun couldn’t hit the center of the target, no matter how hard he tried. He was lucky if he even hit it at all, actually. He had been at this for hours today, and he knew that if he couldn’t pass, then all of his work would be for nothing. Absolutely nothing. His instructor would send him home and he would be forced to hold the secrets of the supernaturals’ existence to himself for as long as he lived. And he could do nothing about it. _

_ The young boy let out a frustrated groan and dropped the now empty gun, leaning against the wall as he allowed himself to slide down to the ground. Jehyun hugged his knees to his chest as he teared up, dropping his face to his knees to hide it. If he was caught this way, he wouldn’t ever hear the end of it.  _

_ “Hey kiddo, something wrong?” _

_ Oh gods, it was happening. Jehyun needed to just stop thinking at all - he always jinxed himself. The boy looked up to see a girl with long brown hair looming over him. He had seen her around before, but since she was a higher level, he’d never spoken to her. _

_ “No,” Jehyun replied, wiping at his eyes with the palm of his hand before he stood up from his place and grabbed the gun. He needed to get away, get more ammo and keep practicing. _

_ The girl didn’t seem convinced as she grabbed his shoulder. “Are you sure? There usually aren’t people sitting around crying without a reason.” _

_ Jehyun frowned, upset that he hadn’t been as clever has he’d thought. “It’s fine,” he repeated once more, then paused, the gears spinning in his head. He shook his head, looking back up at the girl. “Actually, no. I can’t… aim right. And if I can’t by my final test tonight then they’ll send me home. I… don’t want to go home.” _

_ The girl seemed to struggle for a bit, as if she wasn’t sure how to help this young boy deal with his emotions and the fear and anxiety that came with the threat of being sent away. “I can help you, if you’d like,” she offered, meeting Jehyun’s gaze. “I did pretty good with the firearms.” _

_ Jehyun paused once again, studying the girl for any signs of dishonesty. This program had given him some serious trust issues. “Really?” He asked. _

_ The girl nodded. “Yeah, of course. I know how it feels, being threatened to be sent home.” She said, then stuck her hand out to him. “I’m Moon Byulyi. But you can call me Byul.” _

From that day on, Jehyun and Moonbyul were partners in crime, “the unstoppable duo” as some of their instructors had taken to calling them. And now they were still working together, never straying from the goal they had trained for years to attain. 

But now, that may be a thing of the past.

“I’m coming,” Jehyun says, his voice shaking. “I’ll meet you at the north entrance. Call the ambulance.” He hangs up before he can hear any protests from Minnie or Hanbin. He’s barely able to shove his phone into his pocket as he stumbles back inside, too blinded by his worry and dread. “I have to go,” he says as soon as he comes back inside, looking up to Rubin. “A close friend is hurt and I- I need to go.” He barely gives any details, hiding just enough to not concern Rubin with the wrong things.

  
  
Rubin’s brows furrow as he immediately stands up and approaches Jehyun, steadying him. “I understand, it’s alright. Go.” He says, not questioning who was hurt or what happened.

Jehyun nods, looking back up at Rubin for only a moment. “Thank you,” he nearly whispers, pressing a grateful kiss to his cheek before grabbing his keys and heading to the garage. He feared the worst, but he feared even more that there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Felix was lucky he had enough energy to shift back to human form, but he sorely regretted doing it. His entire body ached and he could barely move with half his torso cut open. It was a miracle he could move at all. He forces breath in and out of his lungs - one of which he suspects is collapsed - as he calls out to his brother.

‘ _ Chan- Chan!’  _ Felix calls out. His telepathy was weak in this state, but he needed to find Chan. His life depended on it.  _ ‘Chan, where are you-’ _

_ ‘Felix? What happened? I’m coming to find you-’ _

Hearing Chan’s voice in his head nearly made Felix faint from relief.  _ ‘I got hurt. I need help-’  _ Felix can barely breathe as he presses his hands against the torn flesh, crying out as the sharp pains stab into his core even worse. His fingers become slick with blood as he collapses against a tree, feeling his strength begin to drain to the point where he couldn’t work his legs anymore. His regenerative health couldn’t keep up anymore after fixing the wound in his lower neck, and he was only deteriorating from here.

Felix wasn’t sure how much time passed, but it didn’t feel like a very long time before a large light gray wolf bounds through the foliage, stopping in his tracks when he sees Felix’s bloody and crumpled figure. The wolf immediately shifts, barely paying attention to his own pain as he stumbles over to Felix.

Chan’s hands tremble as he takes in the sight, not even sure if the small body before him belonged to his younger brother. “Felix-?” He asks, his voice catching in his throat as he holds onto the younger male’s shoulders, slowly sitting up so he can examine Felix’s injuries. Felix grimaces, a pained groan escaping his lips. “Sorry-” Chan suddenly apologizes, trying to process everything that was happening. It was too much to take in. “Felix, stay awake, stay with me- what happened?”

“Hunter…” Felix mutters, barely able to get the breath to force the words out. He can’t bring himself to explain much else, but Chan doesn’t need him to.

Chan’s usual response would be to chastise the boy for not listening to Sungho, especially since they had only just been accepted into his pack, but Felix was  _ dying _ . He couldn’t do that. He had to try to save him.

That’s when it hit him. His little brother was dying. 

_ ‘Sungho, Soyeon, Jinhwan- anyone!’  _ Chan calls out desperately while removing his shirt to press against the gaping wound in Felix’s side. It wasn’t going to do much, but Chan refused to acknowledge that. He needed to try.  _ ‘Felix got attacked by one of the hunters, he’s bleeding a lot -- I think he’s dying-’ _

It takes a while, but there’s a response. 

_ ‘Stay there, don’t move. We’re on our way.’ _

Chan bows his head in relief.  _ ‘Thank you, Sungho-’  _ He responds, then tunes out the rest of the world as he focuses on Felix. “Felix?” He calls out, growing more concerned as Felix’s head lolls to the side and his breathing becomes more ragged. “Felix, you need to stay awake! Look at me-”

Felix groans as he peels his eyes open, only to see the blurry image of his older brother peering at him with eyes wide with worry, glistening with tears ready to spill that Chan hadn’t even noticed yet. “Chan…?” He mutters, his voice losing the smoothness it always had only to be replaced by his sounds of struggling to inhale. His vision was going dark and he felt like he was spinning.

“Felix, you need to stay awake, you hear me?” Chan bags, scrambling to grip Felix’s hand and the other one presses the already-drenched shirt to his abdomen. 

“Okay…” Felix gets out, barely able to hold his head up as he tries to keep his eyes open and trained on Chan. It was incredibly difficult, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep… sounded so wonderful right now. It would only be for a few minutes, right? Then he would wake up and be completely fine again. He could go finish off that hunter and her friend. 

Felix mutters inaudibly under his breath as he notices Sungho kneeling beside Chan, inspecting his injuries. When had he gotten there? 

“Jesus, what even happened-” Sungho asks rhetorically, ripping Felix’s shirt as carefully as he can to see the wound better. Felix groans, though it was weak. “Shit, sorry-” Sungho apologizes, his eyes widening has he notices the severity of the injury. “Chris…” The Alpha mutters, glancing to the younger male for only a moment. “It doesn’t look good.”

Chan inhales, his breath shaky as he tightens his grip on Felix’s hand. There wasn’t any way this could be happening. Felix was only eighteen years old, he was far too young to be subject to an end like this, to a life like this. Just last year they had been normal kids going to school - or not caring about school - and cherishing their youth. Then they both got attacked and their lives took a turn for the worse. Maybe Chan deserved it. He’d never really been the nicest person to ever walk the planet, and he would give anything for a redo in life. Wiping away his human existence made him realize that. But Felix? People adored Felix. He was polite and charismatic, and never disrespectful. The life paved ahead of him was promising, but it had all been so unfairly ripped away from him.

And now that life was hanging by a thread. 

“Felix, look at me,” Chan says, choosing not to respond to Sungho as he tries to get his younger brother’s attention once more. “Please, Felix.” His voice cracks as those tears blurring his vision begin to spill over.

Felix can barely muster up the strength to open his eyes, let alone move his head towards Chan’s voice. But he tries his best. “Chan…” He tries to say, his voice coming out no louder than a whisper. “Am I dying…?”

Chan forces a sob from making its way from his throat, knowing that it wouldn’t help curb the fear Felix was most likely feeling. He doesn’t know how to respond. If he said no, he would be lying. If he said yes… why would he say yes? Who would tell their brother to his face that he’s  _ dying?  _ Even if he knows it’s true? Chan simply shakes his head, less of an answer and more of a pathetic method of coping. “I don’t know… It doesn’t look good but we might be able to fix it…” Chan finally settles on, watching as Felix’s eyes begin to dull as his breathing becomes shallower.

“I’m tired…” He mutters, his eyes threatening to slip closed again before he forces them open. Seeing him try so hard to stay awake broke Chan’s heart even more. “Can I sleep now...?”

Chan bites his lip, taking another breath in to try and keep his voice steady. “Yes,” he says, his voice strained as he bows his head, touching their hands to his forehead as he tries to compose himself the best he can. He carefully pulls Felix into his grasp, holding his younger brother’s head against his chest, holding him as closely as he can. “It’s okay, Felix, you can let go, now…”

It’s silent besides Felix’s shallow breathing for what seems like an eternity, until the younger boy speaks up again. “I love you…”

Chan is unable to hold back the choked sob, doubling over his younger brother as he presses a kiss to Felix’s forehead. “I love you too, Felix, so so much, more than anything-” He stammers, cradling Felix’s head as tears roll down his cheek. “You can sleep now, Felix, it’s-it’s okay…”

Felix seems relieved as his eyes slip shut. A moment passes before his hand goes limp and he exhales for the last time. 

Chan finally lets everything go as he feels his brother’s body fall slack in his arms, his shoulders shaking with sobs. He didn’t care that Sungho, and now Soyeon and Donghyuk are watching. They didn’t matter to him. Nobody mattered to him except Felix, and now Felix was gone. For good. 

Sungho stands up and turns away, visibly shaken by witnessing yet another grueling and heart-wrenching death firsthand. He rubs away the mistiness in his eyes, though fails as he listens to Chan’s keening. It felt an infinite amount of times worse to witness a death than to just hear about it. Especially since Felix was so young.

“Dammit…” He mutters, leaning up against a tree as everything truly begins to process. “Gods damn everything to hell!” His fist slams against the bark of the tree, leaving small cuts and abrasions against his flesh, but he couldn’t care less about it. 

He felt fucking useless. All he wanted to do was protect his territory - was that so damn hard? Apparently it was when he was dealing with humans who had trained their entire lives just to kill the supernaturals off. The thought was unfathomable to Sungho. He hated humans, sure, but he didn’t know all the ins and outs of every single way to murder them. That was just sadistic. Even Jinhwan couldn’t go that low.

Movement catches Sungho’s eyes, causing him to look back over his shoulder towards Chan. Soyeon silently kneels beside him, her short hair falling in front of her eyes as her head bows. She says nothing as she removes her long jacket and drapes it over Felix, then looks back up at Chan with a look in her eyes that only he seemed to understand. They had both lost their other halves. Only they were the ones that could know.

Donghyuk glares at the ground, seemingly plunging into a rage as he watches the scene. Without a sound, the younger male turns on his heels and runs off, presumably back towards the territory. For some reason, that triggered something in Sungho. He just left without a word. What happened to being a family, being one? 

Taking a deep breath in, Sungho approaches Chan and Soyeon again, placing a hand on Chan’s shoulder. “Let’s go. The hunters don’t matter right now.” He says.

Chan looks up at Sungho, his eyes bloodshot and skin red from crying. He simply nods, cradling Felix’s covered body as he carefully stands up, allowing Sungho and Soyeon to lead the way back to the territory through the quiet and somber ambiance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look i cried writing this alright


	6. six.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junghoon is determined to protect his coven, but he isn't going about it in the right ways.
> 
> Jehyun finally witnesses what happened to Moonbyul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry that this took so long !! :(( this spot was a rough one in my outline, and since i sort of went off course with the actual story, what i plotted out in the outline didn't really fit. so i had to make some changes to the plot and that took me some time. but here it is !! don't hate me too much for the ending :')

The witches’ territory had been chaotic and on high alert since the scent of death in the air had grown stronger. Choruses of howls throughout the past few nights were evidence enough that another werewolf had been killed, yet again. It didn’t help that Haru was only declining, and everyone’s hope was slowly dwindling.

Especially Junghoon’s. 

He could barely handle himself anymore. How were things going downhill so quickly? It was like everything he had tried so hard to build up and keep moving smoothly was crumbling between his fingers. There wasn’t anything he could do to salvage it. Soojin and Wheein took notice of Junghoon’s decline of his mental state, and were both equally worried.

“Have you seen him today at all?” Wheein asks, breaking the silence that she and Soojin were settled in comfortably.

Soojin glances up at the older woman, brushing stray strands of black hair back into her ponytail as she shakes her head. A sheen of sweat glistened over her forehead and there was dirt caked under her nails, built up from Soojin giving up trying to keep them mostly clean. Gardening wasn’t ever a clean activity. Normally, Wheein would be put off by Soojin’s grime, but she was in nearly the same state, so she couldn’t say anything. “No, I haven’t. But there’s something… off about the energy around his room, I guess?” Soojin says, carefully uprooting a set of flowers to transplant. She knew exactly who Wheein was talking about without his name being specified.

“Off?” Wheein asks, sprinkling charmed soil around the base of the largest sunflower’s stem. “What do you mean?”

Soojin shakes her head, dismissing her last thought. "No, off isn't the right word." She says, pausing for a moment before perking up when the right word comes to mind. "Heavy. It's heavier than usual. Like he's doing more spellwork than usual."

Wheein thinks about the younger witch's words for a moment, dragging her fingers through the soft dirt to create a design. The sigil glows a faint green for a moment before seeming to sink further into the Earth. "He's been really stressed lately. Maybe that's a coping mechanism?"

Soojin shrugs, gently picking a shriveled brown leaf from one of the lavender stems. "Perhaps, but I've never seen him do this much. It's like he's trying to ward off something."

“Maybe he is…” Wheein muses, staring off into the distance for a moment before finishing with the large sunflower. “Do you think we should check on him?” 

“It couldn’t hurt.” Soojin concludes, perking up the leaves of the flowers a bit before standing up and dusting her hands off on her already dirty jeans. “He’ll probably answer if we’re both there.”

Wheein can’t help but to laugh. “Yes, because we both intimidate him.” She jokes, standing up and replacing the tools into a battered old bag. She would put the bag back into the courtyard’s shed once they came back from the intervention, she supposed it would be.

Soojin only smiles softly and shakes her head as she gestures for Wheein to follow her, walking back into the house. It doesn’t take them long to reach Junghoon’s quarters, but the shift in energy around his room was palpable, almost to the point that they were tempted to turn around and leave. Maybe that’s what Junghoon wanted with a ward this strong. The two girls look at each other, then nod as they exchange silent words. Soojin knocks on the door, sharp enough to signal to Junghoon that she wasn’t going to just leave if he shouted ‘go away!’ like the two females were expecting. 

However, both are surprised to see the door open up and reveal Junghoon who looks rather exhausted and shaken. Soojin’s reaction was immediate. “You better not be wasting all your energy on this damn ward.” She says, crossing her arms over her chest as her eyes narrow at the younger male. 

“Um,” Junghoon starts, his eyes flicking between the ground and the two witches before him. “Maybe?” He questions, flinching when Soojin sighs. It was  _ that  _ sigh. The disappointed sigh. He hated that sigh.

“Why?” Soojin asks, not taking her eyes off of the younger male. She could sense Wheein’s eyes on her too, waiting for her to continue. Soojin doesn’t.

Junghoon hesitates and stumbles over the words forming in his throat before choking them back again. “Okay, listen,” he starts off, and both females know immediately that they aren’t going to like what’s coming next. “I needed to start small with this spell before increasing it to the whole territory. I’m not risking what happened to the werewolves happening to us. Not again.”

Both Wheein’s and Soojin’s eyes widen before they begin protesting at the same time. Junghoon startles before simply becoming irritated, narrowing his eyes at them as they both go on about what a horrible idea it was to pull a stunt like that.

“And you did this  _ alone _ !” Soojin finishes, cutting Wheein off with the sharpness of her voice. Junghoon seems unaffected, much to Soojin’s chagrin. “This is dangerous, Junghoon. Not just to you, but to everyone in the coven. Say it works, and then you run out of energy. You can’t come back from that. You can’t do this.”

Junghoon takes a while to respond, mulling over his words carefully before affirming to himself that he was in the right. He  _ had  _ to do this. It was the only thing that seemed right in his mind. “I don’t care if it kills me. I know the stakes. You think I didn’t consider every angle?” He asks, regretting his words as soon as he sees Soojin’s crestfallen expression.

Wheein hesitates, waiting for Soojin to say something before speaking up. When the younger female remains silent, Wheein sighs. “We know what comes with the territory of your position, Junghoon,” she starts, her voice gentle once again. “But… we care about you. Even if you’re willing to just… throw your life away, we don’t want to see you do that. There are other ways to protect the coven without losing another person.”

Junghoon looks down to the ground, becoming sheepish and ashamed before the two older females. All he wanted to do was to protect his coven, but sometimes he could be so damn stubborn that he couldn’t see how his actions would affect the others around him. He knew that his covenmates cared deeply for him - how did he think he was going to get off scott free just letting himself drain completely and leave the coven alone? Protected, sure, but without a High Priest and a final word from him. 

But he still needed to do something, regardless. 

“I’m sorry,” the younger male responds, looking back up at the other two witches. Soojin’s expression never changes, but she doesn’t voice her thoughts either. “But I… need to do something. I don’t know what.”

The silence is palpable after the question leaves Junghoon’s mouth. It seems as if neither of the girls had any idea of what to do either. At least, Wheein didn’t.

“Lose your pride, Junghoon.” Soojin speaks up, her expression hardening. The High Priest couldn’t help but feel as though something was… different between them now. “You need to actually make an effort to work with the other leaders instead of holing yourself up to find solutions on your own. Isn’t that why you agreed to those meetings, anyway?”

The bite in Soojin’s voice nearly startles Junghoon. He hadn’t heard her use that tone in a long time, and it had never been directed towards him before. He felt like a kicked puppy. His shoulders slump forward just the slightest bit as he takes a step back. “Fine.” Junghoon finally says, barely keeping his gaze on Soojin. “Don’t expect me back for a few days, then.” He says, then shutting the door before Soojin can chastise him more and Wheein can stop him.

* * *

Rubin wasn’t going to hide it. He was a nervous wreck about Jehyun. There had only been radio silence after the younger male had ran out on him after receiving that call. Not that Rubin blamed him at all, but he couldn’t reach Jehyun at all. And it had been three days. Something was seriously wrong. 

Rubin didn’t bother to stay in the city after Jehyun left, as Jehyun was the only reason he was there at that time to begin with. As much of a waste of money as it was to travel between the forest, the city, then the forest again, it was the least of his worries. He had a clan to protect. Another werewolf was dead, but that was the extent of his knowledge of the situation. He had no idea who it was, who killed them, and how the rest of the werewolves were responding. Especially Sungho… as much as Rubin hated to admit it, he was scared of the Alpha. He was a threat - a serious one.

The stress was getting to him, and Solar could see it. Rubin was like an open book. She drums her fingertips against the table, watching as Rubin paces a trench into the floor. “You’re thinking about too much,” Solar breaks the silence, barely earning Rubin’s attention. “You need to try and sort through one thing at a time. There’s a lot to unpack.”

Rubin sighs as he balls his hands into fists then relaxes them, trying to relieve at least a little bit of tension. “A lot is an understatement,” he says, finally giving up and sliding into the seat across from Solar. “I don’t know what’s going on with Jehyun, the clan is in a panic, and I don’t know what to do about Sungho.” 

“That’s understandable,” Solar says carefully, folding her hands together on the tabletop. “But what I said still stands. Try organizing your thoughts - that may help your stress a little bit.” 

Rubin gives Solar a deadpan look for just a moment before speaking up again. “If you’re talking about writing out a list, I don’t have the time.”

Solar simply shrugs, opening her mouth to respond again before a pounding on the large double doors to the mansion downstairs catches their attention. The female looks back at Rubin, her expression inquisitive. “Are you expecting anyone?”

Rubin shakes his head, standing up from his spot and heading down the stairs, vaguely aware of Solar following behind him from a distance. The High Lord settles his expression into a neutral one, almost appearing bored as his hand hovers above the doorknob. For all he knew, it could be a raging werewolf or a particularly clever hunter on the other side of it. Finally, he releases a sigh and turns the handle, pulling to door open only to reveal the person he least expected to see.

Junghoon’s chest heaves as the young witch tries to catch his breath, seeming exhausted from physical exertion. Had he ran the entire way here? His eyes narrow as he meets Rubin’s gaze, remaining silent as he waits on Rubin’s reaction.

Rubin’s eyes widen as he steps back a bit. Junghoon was the person he was least likely to expect to show up on his doorstep. “Junghoon,” Rubin greets, barely able to get the name out. “What are you doing here?”

It seemed that Rubin’s presence on its own was enough to make Junghoon go on full defense, even though he was the one in foreign territory. Well, not as foreign as one may think. “We need to talk,” the witch says, his glare shifting from the High Lord to Solar, who still stood behind him.

The female vampire returns the glare before turning on her heel at Rubin’s gesture for her to leave. The elder male looks at Junghoon once more, taking in his exhausted yet rigid figure before taking a breath and stepping outside, letting the large wooden doors fall closed behind him. There was no doubt in Rubin’s mind that Solar wouldn’t be gathering Junhoe and Shuhua to watch the encounter from the windows, but he needed to ignore that for now. 

“My question still stands,” the High Lord says, keeping a watchful eye on the witch. He was simply confused as to why Junghoon was here, instead of defensive like he should have been.

“I don’t know if we can trust the werewolves anymore.” Junghoon says matter-of-factly. “Especially Sungho,” he finishes, his hands twitching and fidgeting at his sides. Rubin noticed that Junghoon always acted this way around him since they… parted. He knew Junghoon well enough to presume that it was his pride trying to mask his fear. 

Rubin pauses, formulating his response carefully. The young witch before him had a point, but they were both impulsive. Rubin wasn’t sure he could afford to give into that just yet. “And why do you think that?”

Junghoon looks ready to pounce Rubin, wanting to throw a thousand curses his way but holds himself back. “That’s a dumb question,” the witch says. “You know that Sungho is unstable. He just had another death in his own pack and I guarantee that isn’t going to sit well with him. How do we know he won’t come and take it out on us when he can’t find the hunters?”

Rubin holds his breath for a moment, realizing that maybe Junghoon was right. It wouldn’t be the first time, either. “We don’t,” Rubin’s voice gives out a bit as he averts his gaze. “So do you have a plan? Or did you just come here to tell me what I already know?”

Junghoon visibly flushes at that comment. Rubin recognizes it as embarrassment, but maybe there was something more there too. The thought is confirmed when Junghoon closes his eyes and forces a breath in. “I need your help.”

The admission makes Rubin smirk. “Really?” The vampire asks, folding his arms across his chest. He knew full well that he shouldn’t utter the next words about to come out of his mouth, but months of the meetings and having to be on the offense constantly contributed to his lack of filter. “You’re finally crawling back to me for help after two years? I thought you were supposed to be the strongest practitioner, despite-”

Junghoon knows exactly where Rubin is about to go with that sentence, and he finally loses his cool. “Shut up! Don’t even start on that!” He cuts off Rubin with a shout, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “You’re not sorry for what you did to me, don’t even act like you are. Not when you use it against me like that.” He continues on, stepping closer to Rubin. The vampire wasn’t a skilled energy worker like the witch before him, but even he could sense the waves of anger, betrayal, and fear rolling off of Junghoon. “I thought you’d taken everything from me, but now look at us. Two rivaling leaders. If it weren’t for you and your stupid impulses, I wouldn’t be where I am now. But don’t expect a thank you, you fucking arrogant asshole. Your ego is big enough as it is, I don’t need to feed it anymore. Forget I even came here, it was stupid. My coven and I can handle the mutts on our own.”

Rubin finds the whole rant rather amusing. Or, at least he tells himself. Junghoon spoke the truth, for the most part. He was sorry for what he’d done to the young witch in the past, but Junghoon was so damned stubborn that he would never listen. So Rubin stopped trying, and moved on. It was for the better. He hoped, at least. He didn’t necessarily have to like Junghoon and his attitude anymore, but there was a small part of Rubin that still loved him. “Whatever you’d like to think, witchling.” Rubin says, smirking when the corner of Junghoon’s lips twitch. “I’ll be around when you need me, but go ahead and put up a few barriers. See how much good that’ll do you against Sungho’s pack.”

Junghoon’s inhale is sharp and shaky. It takes visible effort for him not to explode at the vampire again. “Glad to know you still underestimate me,” he says, backing away and getting ready to turn on his heel to leave.

“I’ll be waiting, Junghoon,” Rubin says, watching as Junghoon just shakes his head and walks away towards the territory’s edge. 

The was a tug at Rubin’s heart that he couldn’t just dismiss now. He couldn’t watch Junghoon walk away again without looking back. It hurt just as much as it did the first time. And this was all because he was an idiot. Rubin felt the need to live up to the role of ‘High Lord’ constantly, and it only hurt the people he loved most.

“Junghoon,” he calls out, almost surprised when the witch stops in his tracks - remains still, facing the forest ahead of him, none of his attention on Rubin. “I  _ am  _ sorry. I couldn’t control it. I know you don’t believe me, and you probably never will. But I need you to know that I am sorry. I’ve never forgiven myself for taking something so precious from you.” He pauses a moment, hoping Junghoon won’t just leave before he could finish. “I’ve moved on, and it seems you have to, but I need you to hear me say it. Know I mean it.”

Silence. Utter silence as Junghoon finally slumps his shoulders forward and takes off into a run into the trees, again not even looking back. The sight leaves Rubin feeling useless all over again. Just like he always felt he would be.

* * *

It feels like an eternity before Jehyun finally arrives at the forest’s edge, relieved to see the van parked at the entrance. Hanbin is pacing in front of the vehicle, biting his thumbnail - it had always been his anxious habit. Jehyun almost forgets to take his keys out from the ignition as he stumbles out from his truck, making his way over to Hanbin. “What happened?” He demands, getting Hanbin’s attention easily.

“You’ll have to ask Minnie for the details,” Hanbin answers truthfully, heading around to the other side of the van. “All I know is that it was a werewolf attack and… things aren’t looking good. The ambulance is coming but they said it would be a while to get all the way out here.” He says, unlocking the back doors before tugging them open.

Minnie startles from her position, looking up from Moonbyul’s mangled figure to see Jehyun standing outside behind Hanbin. Jehyun almost loses it at what little he can already see. Minnie’s clothes and exposed areas of skin are caked with dried blood, and her leg sports a hastily-applied gauze wrap with blood already leaking through it. Although it had only been less than an hour since the attack, Minnie’s eyes appear sunken in and red, giving away that she had been crying.

But Moonbyul… the sight of Moonbyul made Jehyun want to bomb the entire forest and every being living inside it.

The elder female’s eyes were closed, but everything about her body language indicated stress. Her muscles were tensed and her breath came out in shaky spurts and wheezes. She was shivering as if she was cold, but a sheen of sweat covered her forehead, cheeks, and neck. That wasn’t even the worst of it. Parts of her clothes were torn to shreds, just like the flesh beneath the fabric. The wounds were ugly and angry - bleeding and swollen, unable to be staunched. It was so against everything Jehyun envisioned Moonbyul as being to see her so ripped apart and broken.

Jehyun doesn’t waste any time hauling himself into the back of the van, taking the other seat across from Minnie. Despite the dark blood dried onto Moonbyul’s hand, flaking off when her skin was disturbed, Jehyun grabs a hold of one and laces their fingers together. The gesture draws what little attention Moonbyul can give him.

“Byul,” Jehyun starts, trying to keep his voice steady. It was proving difficult. The woman’s eyes flutter, though don’t remain open for long. A groan bubbles up from her throat as her head lolls towards Jehyun. “Gods, I’m sorry… I should have been here with you.”

Minnie looks up at him, the frown still etched onto her lips as she listens to him. She knows better than to interject - it wasn’t her time right now.

Jehyun couldn’t even piece together what he was feeling. Anger, denial, disbelief, dread, and simply… utter sadness. Underneath all of that, his logic told him what was going to happen. He wasn’t sure anything could help Moonbyul at this point. Perhaps they were only keeping her alive in her suffering…

The lead hunter tightens his grip on her hand, using his other hand to brush Moonbyul’s snowy platinum hair off of her forehead. “You know I love you, right?” He says, his voice cracking near the end. “You’ve been my role model and best friend for as long as I’ve known you. Everything I’ve ever done has all been with your approval in mind. So will everything I do in the future.” He continues, not even trying to hold back his tears anymore. He didn’t want to accept what was about to happen, but logic prevailed.

Minnie bites her lip when she hears his words, squeezing her eyes shut to prevent another round of sobs. She didn’t want Moonbyul to die, just like everyone else. It seemed impossible. Moonbyul was untouchable - she couldn’t ever be harmed and seemed to know everything about the supernaturals. She was the glue that kept them together, and without her, Minnie didn’t know what they were going to do.

Moonbyul’s hand had been limp within Jehyun’s so far, but a gentle squeeze from her - almost unnoticeable - was enough to unhinge him. Jehyun leans forward, a sob escaping his throat as he presses his forehead against their hands. “Go to sleep,” he chokes out, not glancing up at the female hunter again. “It’s okay, it won’t hurt anymore. We’ll be okay.”

It’s hard to pin down the exact moment Moonbyul lets go, but Jehyun isn’t sure he wants to know. All he knows is that she isn’t suffering anymore. When he finally looks back up again, Moonbyul’s expression is softened, almost relaxed. Peaceful. It was the complete opposite of the state of the wounds littering and ruining her body.

Jehyun looks up at Minnie only to see her slumped over, head drooped and looking towards the ground. She and Moonbyul were incredibly close too - he couldn’t even imagine how she was feeling. “Minnie,” Jehyun speaks up, only receiving a bit of the female’s gaze in response. “Come here.”

Minnie hesitates a moment before hauling herself up and crossing to the other side of the van, sitting down beside him and allowing herself to fall into his open arms. She buries her face in his chest as the truth finally sinks in and she just can’t hold back her tears again. Jehyun hugs her tightly, rocking slightly. “They’re going to pay for this,” he mutters under his breath, his anger starting to rear its ugly head. “I mean it. Not one of them will be alive by the time we’re done with them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry
> 
> check out my 1team fanacc on ig!!  
> @junghoonlovebug


	7. sept.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sungho is determined to end this once and for all, until Soyeon throws him for a loop when they finally get their hands on the prize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its almost 3am and i'm way too tired to proofread this chapter, so i apologize in advance for any mistakes!

“So, star-boy, tell me something.”

They didn’t know how, but Junghoon visiting the ocean just to see Jinwoo had become a common occurrence, especially with stress slowly taking over the witch. Being by the ocean was relaxing enough, but Junghoon truly did enjoy Jinwoo’s company. It was almost to the point that he relied on it to relieve some of the tension in his muscles, even if it was only for a short time. 

“Hm?” Junghoon hums in response, the tip of his boot skimming the surface of the water, creating lines of ripples. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, casting a dark haze over the water and broken golden lines of light over the surface. Normally he wasn’t one for nicknames, but the one Jinwoo chose for him actually stuck with Junghoon well. Maybe it was because it was Jinwoo that called him that, too.

“Why are you scared of Rubin?” The merman asks, turning to look at Junghoon. This time, he had chosen to haul himself up onto the rocky outcropping beside Junghoon instead of floating in the water the whole time. Since he was still in contact with the water, Jinwoo couldn’t switch to his human form. Not that he wanted to, but Junghoon seemed so wary around him in his natural form that he was tempted to just for the boy’s own comfort. Over time, though, Junghoon had grown used to seeing the long tail instead of a pair of legs. Or so he had told himself.

The question catches Junghoon off guard at first, then sends him into defensive mode. Any mention of Rubin did, but pairing it with the notion that the witch was afraid of the vampire was even worse. Because it was true. “I’m not,” Junghoon answers, averting his gaze away from Jinwoo. Was he really that transparent? “I just don’t like him. I’m not scared of him.”

Junghoon can hear the smile in Jinwoo’s voice without even looking at him. “No, you don’t like Sungho or the hunters,” Jinwoo says, not asking but rather stating a fact. “You’re scared of Rubin. Why is that?”

Jinwoo had a way of just being able to tell these things. He was observant by nature and nosy by personality. He couldn’t help it. Junghoon should be annoyed, but he wasn’t. In a way, he was relieved. Maybe Jinwoo would be someone he could confide in. “How can you tell?” Junghoon asks, dodging the merman’s question.

“Your body language,” Jinwoo answers simply. “Your facial expressions give a lot away, too. You sort of… recoil when Rubin’s around but you look ready to pounce when it’s Sungho.” He explains, pausing for a moment before bumping the younger’s shoulder. “Now answer my question.”

Junghoon sighs and buries his face in his palms, leaning forward as he thinks. He wanted to stall, or think of a lie. Or both. There was no way he could tell Jinwoo the truth - not now, at least. “It’s instinctual,” Junghoon finally settles on, not moving from his position. “A vampire feeds from a witch and they absorb some of the witch’s power, if that makes sense. Steals a part of us. Vampires have the instinct to bite us, cause, y’know, natural selection to be stronger and all of that, so we hide.” He explains, hoping that a vague answer was good enough for Jinwoo.

Jinwoo could see through it. He believed Junghoon’s explanation, but he was also sure that there was more to the story. Rubin and Junghoon had a past together, but that was something that would reveal itself when the time came. As curious as Jinwoo was, he couldn’t push the witch too much. Instead, he just nods and looks back down at the water again. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

The silence that follows is comfortable between the both of them. Eventually Junghoon looks up again, his gaze staying steady on the still surface of the water, though is soon drawn back to Jinwoo’s striped brown tail once again. As much as he didn’t want to stare, he couldn’t help it. It was still such a foreign sight.

“What?” Jinwoo’s voice startles Junghoon again, causing him to snap his head back up towards the merman.

The witch can feel his cheeks heat up at being caught. “Sorry,” he says simply, looking away once again. He really was like an open book, wasn’t he?

Jinwoo’s laugh catches Junghoon’s attention again, just like it always did. “You can ask questions, you know.” He says. “I’m not going to be offended. Unless it’s a super dumb question, of course.” Jinwoo says, grinning at the end of his last statement. Junghoon knew when he was joking around by now, anyway, but he loved seeing Jinwoo’s smile.

“I will when I have some,” Junghoon says, shrugging a bit. “I’m just… not completely used to it, I guess…” He admits sheepishly, unable to keep eye contact with the older male. 

“It’s understandable,” Jinwoo responds, flicking his fin and splashing some water up at Junghoon playfully. “Since we like to keep to ourselves so much.” He jokes, laughing when Junghoon flinches away at being splashed.

“Hey-” the younger protests, scooting back a bit and pulling his feet up to hug his knees to his chest. “How rude of you,” Junghoon says, grinning back at Jinwoo. 

Jinwoo laughs and bumps the younger’s shoulder again, grinning. “You love me and you know it.”

The air shifts for Junghoon, becoming just a bit more warm and suffocating. It was just a remark made in fun, right? Maybe it didn’t mean anything, but this was Jinwoo we’re talking about. Maybe he knew how easily Junghoon could give into emotions, and how easily he could fall for a person. How he couldn’t really process and decipher his emotions properly anymore. 

Junghoon simply gives the elder a sad smile. “Yeah, I do.”

Jinwoo was just about to question what he meant when the sounds of hurried footsteps and the rustling of leaves from behind them catches their attention. They turn around to see Chanwoo standing there, out of breath and a complete mess. Before Junghoon even realizes what’s going on, Jinwoo dives back into the water, only the top of his head poking out from the surface to listen.

“Junghoon,” Chanwoo finally says, his expression twisted in exhaustion, worry, and fear. “We have a situation.”

* * *

The heavy feeling of mourning that had settled over the werewolf clan over the last few days was bringing Sungho down in a way he couldn’t describe. He felt angry and restless underneath the sadness. He was itching to do something, impatient to get his hands around the neck of those hunters. There was no way that these deaths could simply go unpaid - if Sungho had to go out and slaughter them all on his own, then he would. No second thoughts.

The sound of the door to his room being flung open startles Sungho, and he whips around ready to tear into whoever had disturbed him without a warning, but stops when his eyes settle on Hwasa. She was trying to catch her breath as if she had just run all the way to the mansion. With she and Donghyuk leading patrol today, Sungho now feared the worst. 

"What is it?" Sungho asks, stepping closer to the woman.

"The hunters," Hwasa says, her eyes narrowing just the slightest bit. Knowing her, she had to force herself to make the logical decision and inform Sungho first before attacking the hunters. "They're outside the territory. The leader is with them."

Sungho doesn’t waste his time heading towards the door, gesturing for Hwasa to follow along behind him. “Gather everyone and assign them different regions of the territory and outside the territory,” he says, pulling on a jacket from the hook on the back of his door, then exits to the main room of the mansion. “Any hunter they see they can kill, except the leader. Leave him for me and Soyeon.” He says, then points towards the front doors.

Hwasa nods, not questioning any order she had been given. She leaves the mansion to carry them out immediately while Sungho took off to find Soyeon and Jinhwan. Recently, he didn’t trust those two to be out on patrol with the most recent events, so he had them completing menial tasks around the house instead, along with Chris. They all hated it, but Sungho had a bit of sense in him to not allow them the free reign outside for right now.

It didn’t take too long for Sungho to find them in the kitchen, tag-teaming the task most of the clan members hated the most: butchering the game from the last pack hunt. It was a messy job, and nobody liked to do it, understandably. Even Sungho didn’t like it, but he wouldn’t ask his pack members to do anything he wasn’t willing to do himself. Though he wouldn’t do it often. 

“Whatever you’re doing, leave it.” Sungho announces to them, successfully earning their full attention, especially Jinhwan’s. He would take any opportunity to get out of the kitchen. “The hunters can’t learn their lessons. Meet me in front of the mansion.” He says, not leaving any time for the others to respond before leaving again.

While he wasn’t one for weapons, something was telling Sungho to bring a knife along with him. While he very much preferred his own natural weapons, we’ll say, there was a pull for him to strap his knife sheath to his thigh. It wasn’t long before he was outside in front of the doors, being greeted by Soyeon. Chris and Jinhwan arrive shortly after Sungho, whispering between themselves before taking their spots in front of the Alpha.

“We’re not going to be walked all over again,” Sungho starts, his eyes narrowing as he meets each of their gazes. “We  _ will  _ get rid of those maggots for good. Don’t be afraid to spill any blood. But don’t kill the leader. We want him captured alive.” He finishes, this time lingering on Soyeon’s gaze. The blonde female’s expression was set in its normal icy stare, but he could have sworn there was a ghost of a smile on her lips.

“Let’s finish this.”

* * *

The last thing Jehyun wanted to do was leave Minnie, Hanbin, and Bobby on their own, but at this point the only thing they could do was split up to cover more ground. He needed to find the werewolf that killed Moonbyul and end that scoundrel’s life himself. It was the only way he’d be able to live with himself.

Jehyun grips the handle of his gun tightly enough to turn his knuckles white, and his steps are heavier than they normally would be. He’s distracted, thinking about Moonbyul, about his team, and about Rubin. He knew better than this. During a hunt, nothing else mattered. Eliminating his targets and staying alive were what mattered. 

Dead leaves crunch beneath Jehyun’s feet as his eyes dart between the treeline and the golden hue of the light. The sun was setting now, alerting Jehyun to the fact that this hunt was about to become a lot more dangerous. It wasn’t his preferred time to hunt, but if he had done it before, he could do it again. Jehyun grumbles under his breath as he travels, trying to keep his attention focused on his surroundings, which was becoming increasingly difficult. 

The sound of footsteps in the distance makes Jehyun startle, pulling his gun up to aim in the direction of the noise. His eyes narrow, watching carefully for any other sign of life.

Silence.

After a few minutes of checking and re-checking the area around him, Jehyun lets out a soft sigh and lowers his gun, allowing his tensed muscles to relax a bit.  _ Maybe I’m just hearing things,  _ he tells himself, continuing on his way again. 

There was barely enough time for Jehyun to react as a figure barrels out and shoves him to the ground, knocking the air from his chest. There’s no time to worry about who this person is and why they’re so damn strong as Jehyun pushes against the figure, bringing the butt of his gun up against the side of the male’s head. A growl rips from the offender’s throat as he shakes his head and wraps a hand around Jehyun’s throat, again pinning him to the ground. Jehyun struggles to get breath in, trying to lift himself up but failing. 

“Stay down,” the male says, sliding a knife from the sheath on his thigh and replacing his hand clamping down on the hunter’s airways with the blade. Jehyun feels a sense of panic, knowing that this wasn’t a human he was dealing with. A human wasn’t this strong. He had no choice but to comply if he didn’t want his neck slit open.

The male grabs him by the shirt collar and hauls Jehyun up, keeping the knife pressed right under his chin, then moves his arm to keep the hunter in a headlock. Jehyun sucks a breath in, trying to keep his trembling under control. He flinches when then male whistles, the high-pitched noise catching him by surprise.

Jehyun should have guessed that these were werewolves he was dealing with. A large, snowy gray wolf and a smaller light brown wolf step out from the trees, their golden eyes piercing into Jehyun’s brown ones. His breath hitches as the grip on his neck tightens.

“Dirty fucking hunter,” the male hisses from behind him. “You’re a hard one to get a hold of. You have no idea how much I just want to carve your throat out right now for what you’ve done, but there’s someone who wants to slaughter you even more than I do.”

The words make Jehyun flinch, then tsk under his breath. “The feeling is mutual,” he mumbles, his attention soon being drawn towards the brunette wolf as she collapses, letting out whines as grueling snapping sounds fill the air. Her body twists and mangles its shape back into one of a small human girl, her figure curled up on the ground as she catches her breath.

When she looks up, her golden eyes narrow at Jehyun with a fiery hatred that nobody could mistake. “You,” she mutters, standing up and stalking towards Jehyun. “You killed my brother.”

Jehyun merely hums as he looks her up and down, deeming her as the weakest of the tree. She was small compared to the man restraining him, and didn’t seem like anything special. “I’ve killed a lot of you mutts. You act like I’d remember it.”

The sudden blow the girl throws to his stomach elicits a strangled noise from Jehyun, making him recoil as much as he can with the stonewall of a man remaining steady behind him. Okay, maybe Jehyun underestimated this girl.

“Doesn’t matter,” the girl says, her top lip curling just the slightest bit. “You’ve only proven my point. You filthy humans don’t even realize we have feelings and people we care about, too. You’re  _ disgusting.” _

“Sungho!” 

The new voice calls out from the underbrush and distracts the man behind Jehyun enough to loosen his grip enough. The hunter sucks in as much air as he can before the man - Sungho pulls him back again by the neck. “Stay in line, hunter.”

Another male steps out, accompanied by four other people. What was this, supernaturals bridge night? Did Jehyun just decide to come hunting on the wrong day? The boy who steps out first, presumably the one who shouted at the werewolf glares at Sungho, but Jehyun couldn’t get past how childlike and youthful he appeared. His eyes were speckled with violet - a witch. Most of them always appeared younger than they actually were, so maybe that was this boy’s case. Two of the people behind him, a taller male and a female shared the violet flecks, but the shortest male among them had blue instead of purple. It took a moment for Jehyun to pin it down - a merman. On land? He found it almost impossible to believe. 

“Get out of here, Junghoon.” Sungho says from behind him, his attention on the boy rather than Jehyun at the moment. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“You’re making a mistake.” The boy, Junghoon says, his voice calm as his eyes narrow at Sungho. “You know what Rubin said. There’s a reason he said not to kill the hunters.”

The mention of Rubin catches Jehyun’s attention, sending a barrage of paranoid thoughts and questions through his head. They couldn’t mean  _ his  _ Rubin, right? It was a common name, Jehyun tries to convince himself. There was simply no way that they were talking about the man he loved. If they were… Rubin knew about the supernaturals, at the very least. Jehyun hoped against all hope that he wasn’t a part of them. “Rubin-?” He sputters out, then lets out a strangled noise as Sungho’s grip cuts off more air.

Sungho chooses to ignore Jehyun, instead focusing his anger on the witch who just had to stick his nose where it didn’t belong  _ again _ . “Which is stupid, don’t you idiots get it?” The werewolf fires back, his irritation and lack of patience showing. “These disgraces of human beings keep showing up back here, no matter what we do.” He says, jolting Jehyun backwards a bit only to show off more than he finally had the hunter in his grasp. Jehyun glares as he struggles against the blade, hating how vulnerable he was at the moment. “The only way to solve this problem is to fucking get rid of them all!”

“And thus trigger the uprise of an entire country of humans,” Junghoon says, raising an eyebrow as he leans back against one of the larger trees. “Or at the very least, however many other hunters he has behind him.” The witch adds, nodding his head towards Jehyun. “Besides that… you really think  _ we _ wouldn’t try to stop you?”

Sungho barks out a laugh. “Right, three witches and a merman in human form? It’d be an easy fight.” He scoffs in amusement, teasing the tip of the knife against Jehyun’s throat. The hunter jerks his chin away, eyes stealing a glance down to the hilt of the blade, itching to just find a way out and put a bullet in this werewolf’s head. 

“Don’t forget the vampires on their way, too,” Junghoon says, his voice giving off an almost playful tone, as if he were teasing Sungho. Perhaps he was. Jehyun had to admit that it was a bit amusing. “Chanwoo had a feeling you would pull something tonight, and as usual, he was right. You’re too predictable, mutt.” 

Sungho growls, the sound reverberating through his chest against Jehyun’s back. “Freak,” he mutters under his breath, then suddenly looks up towards the heavier part of the woods.

“Put the knife down, Sungho.”

Jehyun knew that voice. He knew it all too well. That voice whispered sweet nothings to him in the middle of the night, kept him company when he felt lonely back at home, and told him how amazing he was after nights spent with their bodies tangled together. This had to be some sick nightmare. Rubin wasn’t involved with this, he couldn’t be. He was human. Human. Not some freak of nature that Jehyun had dedicated his life to executing.

“No way,” Sungho responds, his voice shaking with laughter. “Not when I’ve got the trophy kill.” The metal of the knife sends hot chills through Jehyun’s neck, the blade almost cutting through the skin. He closes his eyes, willing this all to just go away. 

“This isn’t the way to go about this.” Rubin’s voice echoes through Jehyun’s ears, distracting him from keeping steady underneath Sungho’s grip. “Let him-”

The world stops spinning, coming to a halt as Rubin cuts himself off. Jehyun’s breathing hitches and he makes himself open his eyes. This was a nightmare, but he had to be sure that it was real. 

And it was.

Rubin’s now red-flecked eyes stare at Jehyun with an indiscernible mix of emotions. Confusion, anger, fear, sadness, but the most noticeable one Jehyun also felt.

Betrayal.

Jehyun opens his mouth to say something, but no words come out. He can’t find the right thing to say because there wasn’t anything to say. Another thing to note down - Rubin was a great liar. And so was Jehyun.

There wasn’t going to be any way to fix this relationship. It was nice while it lasted, Jehyun supposed, but he couldn’t ignore the heartbreak he felt. At this point, he didn’t see any plausible way to get out of this unscathed. Why not go out with a bang?

Jehyun’s eyes narrow at Rubin, waiting for the other to speak first. Everyone else seemed to hold their breath, putting the pieces together slowly. “So,” Rubin finally says, his voice eerily calm as if he were trying to keep his composure. “You’re the hunter that’s been killing us off for years.”

“All in a day’s work,” Jehyun replies simply, angling his chin up a bit. He doesn’t break Rubin’s gaze, refusing to back down.

“Was everything you told me a lie?” Rubin asks, taking a step closer and then another, walking towards the hunter slowly.

“No,” Jehyun replies. “But it seems like those were the only things you told me,  _ bloodsucker. _ ” Rubin barely has the time to step back, eyes wide before Jehyun swings his leg back behind him, knocking Sungho off balance. The realization that Rubin and Jehyun knew each other was distracting enough that Sungho succumbs to the attack.

Jehyun knows he has only a few seconds before the crowd of supernaturals jump him, but he knew this before making such a risky move. His hand flies up to his earpiece, pressing down on the button in haste. “I need backup,  _ now!”  _ He yells into the device, barely able to get the words out to his team of hunters before Sungho barrels into him again, pummeling Jehyun into a transparent, shimmering barrier. The hunter barely catches a glimpse of Junghoon with a scowl etched into his features, simply holding up a hand that kept the barrier in place. With the sun now set below the horizon, Jehyun was now dealing with having to fight his way through the dark with the moon hidden behind the trees. 

“Call off your friends if you know what’s good for you, Jehyun,” Rubin calls out to him, his voice growing closer as Sungho twists his arm behind his back.

Jehyun only laughs, not allowing himself to grimace to satisfy the werewolf behind him. “Too late,” he says.

Before he even knows it, the pressure of Sungho’s grip disappears without reason, leaving Jehyun almost confused before a larger force knocks him to the ground, a light brown paw digging into his stomach and arm to pin him down. His head lolls, vision going blurry as stars circle his vision, but the sharp, piercing pain of the bite in his shoulder took over all of his senses. 

There’s no tugging or pulling of flesh, contrary to what Jehyun expecting, but rather the she-wolf pulls back and steps away before shifting again. Shouts erupt around the clearing, all melding together into noise instead of any discernible words. That was, until Sungho’s voice towers above the others.

“Soyeon, do you realize what you’ve just done?! You should have just fucking killed him!” Sungho yells at the blonde female who was still knelt on the ground, recovering from her two shifts in the short amount of time. Despite her obvious exhaustion, the girl grins anyway, her expression almost crazed.

“Yes, I do know what I just did.” She answers, hauling herself up as she presses a hand against her side. “Death is too light a punishment for what he’s done, so I’ll make him go through what Mingi and I did.” She says, looking back down at Jehyun, who still could barely process what was happening after hitting his head so hard. Soyeon walks over to him and kneels down over him, scanning her eyes across all the other people present before looking back down to him. “Forever an outcast with one foot in each world, always at the bottom of the chain. You never know true pain until everything you’ve ever known and loved is taken from you.”

“What the hell are you going on about?” Jehyun asks, trying to focus the double image of the girl into one. 

Soyeon leans down closer to him, chuckling under her breath. “Look up,” she replies, almost in a whisper as she points a single finger skyward. Jehyun’s gaze follows it, almost afraid of what he would find. And it was more than fear that ripped through him when he saw it.

The full moon had never shone brighter in the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jehyun's in a pickle oops
> 
> the final scene is the scene i mapped out in my head that pushed me to write this fic in the first place. it's so satisfying to actually reach this point, since i never get this far in fics!


	8. huit.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the gathering proves to push everyone to their own limits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god y'all i'm so so so sorry this update took forever :(((( i've legit been working on this since i posted the last chapter but ran into so many road blocks. so i did the best i could but i guess this just turned out to be a filler with a few important bits of information. after this though the story is going to be winding down, so hopefully i will be able to get the motivation to completely finish this fic before the end of the year!! thank you to everyone who has read this and stuck around <3
> 
> also i haven't proof-read this part or anything at all - i just wanted to get it out :') i'll fix any mistakes if i see them later!

As soon as the opportunity arose, Junghoon took the chance he had to grab Rubin by the shoulders and yank him back, pressing the vampire against a tree. The witch was the same height, if not a bit taller than Rubin, so it was easier now than it was in the past to look down on him. “So this is what you do now?” Junghoon demands, gripping Rubin’s shirt collar in his fists. “Seduce ignorant humans?”

Rubin simply glares at Junghoon, trying to push the witch away. He was standing steady, though. “Not usually, no,” he says, again pushing back against Junghoon. “Let go of me, warlock.”

Junghoon’s eyes narrow, pushing Rubin back even further against the trunk. “Doesn’t matter,” he says, his voice eerily quiet. “This is your fault. Everything about this is your fault. You fuck some human and he turns out to be the lead goddamn hunter!” His voice climbs in volume steadily as his grip turns his knuckles white.

Rubin almost snarls at him, baring his teeth just enough to show his elongated canines. “ _ Back off, _ ” he mutters, his voice dropping to a low tone. “I did it once, I’ll do it again.”

Junghoon’s eyes widen at the words, the trauma of all the memories making him stumble back and let go of Rubin. “You’re the worst person I have ever had the displeasure of knowing,” he says, trying to hide the fear he let show for a moment. “Sungho’s going to kill you for this, and I won’t stop him this time.”

“I don’t need you to protect me, witchling,” Rubin hisses, the hostility rolling off of him in waves. Junghoon’s expression is dark, his gaze not averting from Rubin’s as he steps back. By this time, Chanwoo, Wheein, and Jinwoo had stepped back from the clearing, watching Junghoon and Rubin from the trees warily. The High Priest merely shakes his head as he steps back and turns away, hurrying towards the other three and ushering them off. He severely hoped that they hadn’t heard what Rubin said - what caused him to become so shaken. 

Junghoon doesn’t stop walking for a long while, acutely aware of the whispers behind him from Wheein and Chanwoo. Of course, they were probably discussing what happened. Jinwoo was quiet, as Junghoon expected him to be, but he could feel the merman’s eyes boring into the back of his neck. It was hard to ignore, but Junghoon was managing. Until Jinwoo catches up to him and entwines his fingers with the witch’s. Junghoon’s cheeks flush as he looks at Jinwoo, eyes widening for a moment.

Jinwoo is silent for a while, pondering his words if he even had any. After a few long moments, the merman shakes his head and squeezes Junghoon’s hand. “What happened?” He asks simply.

Junghoon wishes so badly that he couldn’t read between the lines, and that he could just play dumb. He would have to admit his darkest secret to Chanwoo and Wheein too. And Soojin wasn’t here. He wanted to tell her first, if he told anyone at all, but right now he had to face these three head-on. Junghoon studies Jinwoo’s eyes for a moment, noticing how each aqua speck in them was just a little bit of a different shade than the last. He then glances over to Chanwoo and Wheein who had stopped behind them, watching in earnest. Chanwoo looked almost irritated, which was almost never the case, but Wheein was concerned and curious, and that showed on her face.

Sighing, Junghoon closes his eyes and hooks a couple fingers under the elongated collar of his jacket, not giving himself any time to rethink his decision before yanking it down to reveal the scarred bite mark in the valley of his neck and shoulder. The one Rubin had given him years ago. He doesn’t even want to see the others’ reactions, but he hears them.

“Rubin bit you?!” Wheein exclaims, hurrying to Junghoon’s side to inspect the scars. As soon as she gets close enough, the High Priest turns away and pulls the jacket collar back up. The female witch doesn’t move, instead just watches Junghoon with a mix of shock and concern etched into her face. Chanwoo doesn’t move, looking as though he was trying to figure out and piece together what he had just seen.

Besides the stigma surrounding vampires feeding from witches, Junghoon just hated being under this scrutinization. This was exactly why he didn’t tell anyone. This judgement that he could feel from the two other witches, and the pure shock from the merman. He couldn’t imagine how Soojin would react… “Yes, Rubin bit me.” He finally admits, turning his back to the group. “Years ago, before I was appointed High Priest. He took advantage of me when I was still vulnerable and almost ruined me; that’s why I’m scared of him. Can we keep going now, please?” He finishes, tapping his foot impatiently. 

Chanwoo and Wheein exchange a look while Jinwoo simply watches Junghoon with an unreadable expression. “Yes, let’s go.” Wheein says, causing Junghoon to release a sigh of relief and turn around, continuing to walk almost immediately.

“But you’ll tell Soojin, too,” Chanwoo brings up, his voice pointed as he walks behind Junghoon. “She deserves to know more than we do.”

Junghoon and Soojin hadn’t really talked since he had tried to set up the protective barriers, still too tense around each other to really discuss his motives properly. But as much as Junghoon hated it, Chanwoo was right. He told Soojin everything, but she didn’t know about this. Hell, Jinwoo had found out before her. As much as he liked Jinwoo, it wasn’t right. Junghoon would die for Soojin without a second thought, yet he’d never told her his closest-held secret.

Junghoon sighs, not bothering to turn and look at Chanwoo. “I will. Don’t worry.” He says, pausing for a moment before glancing back over his shoulder. “And I don’t want either of you interfering, yeah?”

Chanwoo simply nods, seemingly satisfied with the condition he was given. Wheein, however, only agrees begrudgingly. She wasn’t sure why yet, but something about this whole thing didn’t sit right with her, especially with how close Junghoon was becoming with Jinwoo. It only seemed like a recipe for disaster. Especially since his last relationship with another species - that was completely new information to her - didn't end well.

Junghoon, however, felt like his chest was being weighed down by at least twenty pounds of bricks. The anxiety he felt made him dread even seeing Soojin, and he didn't think that even Jinwoo's calming presence would be enough to help. For now, all he could do was live with it and hope that Soojin was in a good mood.

It seemed like wishful thinking.

* * *

Jehyun felt so many things at once. Pain, anger, fear, nausea, betrayal… the list could go on. It was so completely and totally overwhelming to the point that he couldn't even process where he was or who he was anymore. The world was spinning and the only thing he could focus on was the circle of white light from the full moon above him, beating down onto him and seeming to scream that he was ruined forever.

He was surprised that he wasn't dead yet. 

There was chaos ensuing around him. Jehyun could tell. He didn't know what was going on exactly, but the cacophony of voices was overpowering and was almost demanding his attention. It was too much - his head was pounding.

Just as he was ready to give up and let whoever wanted to spill his blood just get it over with, the sound of a bowstring being released and a hiss catches his attention. He turns his head towards the noise, trying to make out the new figure through his double vision. Tall, long black hair, and a large compound bow in the female’s grasp was unmistakable to Jehyun. Minnie had answered his distress call. At least someone had. He stretches his arm out, grimacing at the pain in his shoulder as he searches for the handgun. He couldn’t leave Minnie to her own devices if she were here. She’d thrown herself into the middle of their biggest threats with no other backup, as far as Jehyun could tell.

Before Jehyun can find the firearm, he feels hands grasping his sides under his arms and pulling him up, causing another groan of pain to tumble from his lips and another wave of dizziness to wash over his body. “We’ve gotta get you out of here,” Hanbin’s says, urgency dripping from it as he helps Jehyun get out of the chaos unfolding around them.

“Minnie,” Jehyun mumbles, glancing back but barely able to make out what’s going on. 

“Don’t worry about her, she’ll be fine,” Hanbin insists, propping Jehyun against him as he helps him make his way to a clearing away from the bloodshed happening around them. Once he finds a suitable spot, Hanbin leans him against a tree trunk, and Jehyun immediately sinks back against it. “What the hell even happened?”

Being in a darker space and with less commotion around, Jehyun found it easier to focus on the older male. The hunter’s eyes narrow as he tries to steady his uneven breathing. “Take a look.” He says, then reaches up and pulls down his sleeve to reveal the fresh bite, bleeding steadily down his chest and arm. 

Hanbin’s eyes widen as he leans in closer to inspect the bite, being careful not to touch it. “What kind of bite is that…?” He asks, his tone signifying that he already knew. Perhaps he just wanted to confirm what he feared most. 

“The Alpha’s second hand bit me.” Jehyun explains bitterly, glancing down at it with an almost somber expression. Rubin kept creeping into his mind. He didn’t want to think of Rubin anymore, but there was no way that the vampire’s beautiful face wouldn’t show up crystal-clear in his head. Jehyun wasn’t about to admit that part to Hanbin  _ or  _ Minnie yet, though. 

Hanbin’s gaze flits around as reality begins to settle in. “And it’s-”

“It’s a full moon.” Jehyun finishes, his expression remaining stoic as Hanbin scowls, defaulting to anger as his primary response.

“How the fuck are you so calm about this?” He asks, trying his best not to explode at the younger male. It wasn’t Jehyun’s fault he got bit. Hanbin hoped so, at least.

“I’m not!” Jehyun retorts, glaring back at the male as if challenging him. “I’m far from fucking calm! There’s no way to reverse this, what the hell am I going to do?!” He starts going off, his eyes widening as his breath picks up speed and then it  _ really  _ sets in. He wasn’t human anymore. He was the thing he hated most.

Hanbin grips Jehyun’s shoulders, shaking him once to help give him his composure back. “Stop it, panicking won’t help anything!”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Minnie’s voice disrupts the two of them, and the males look over to see her scowling at them. “Hanbin, I told you to take him to the van. We’re all exposed like this!”

“Let’s go, then,” Hanbin grumbles, again leaning Jehyun against him as he allows Minnie to take the lead. The three travel quietly, walking on eggshells as if one of the creatures would spring on them at any moment. For all they knew, they could, but the fact that it was completely silent around them was almost unbelievable. It was like… they were letting them leave.

None of them were complaining, though. Once they reached the van, Jehyun passes the keys to Hanbin, and Minnie takes the role of helping Jehyun get into the vehicle. “See if you can get some rest,” Minnie says, taking the seat beside him. “I’ll take care of the wound…” She mutters, glancing up at Hanbin as the other male starts the van. Jehyun wonders why Minnie isn’t questioning where the bite came from, but maybe she could tell from the looks of it and didn’t want to press the issue further than it already had been.

The wound was just like any other. It stung and burned when Minnie cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, but there wasn’t much Jehyun could do besides sit there and take it while he let his thoughts consume him. He would be lying if the idea of putting a silver bullet through his own head crossed his mind a few times. It was the only…  _ cure  _ to lycanthropy, as it were. But ironically enough, that wasn’t even the worst part. He could think of a few other reasons to off himself, too.

Like Rubin.

Every thought of the elder male brought a stabbing pain through his chest, even worse than the bite and cuts littered across his body. He’d never  _ ever  _ felt anything like this horrible sense of betrayal. But… how had Jehyun been so fucking stupid? There were signs, right? Did he just not see any of them? Rubin’s “business trips” seemed so convincing. But now that he thought about it, Jehyun had always noticed something…  _ off  _ about Rubin’s eyes. Like they were fake. He must have been wearing contacts to mask the red flecks. Jehyun almost scoffs out loud at himself. It was so stupid.  _ He  _ had been so stupid.

“Jehyun?” The sound of his name breaking the silence causes Jehyun to whip his head up, then hiss at the renewed dizziness he feels.

“Yeah?” He asks, holding the side of his head as he presses against his temple. His head was pounding again, great.

“Sorry-” Minnie apologizes quickly, her fingers fidgeting as they tangle in each other. “Do you… need to talk? A lot happened.”

Jehyun simply stares at her for a moment before chuckling, then laughing out-right. “A lot is an understatement. A lot is an  _ insult  _ to what happened. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to  _ let _ that happen!”

“Jehyun, you got cornered by all of them,” Minnie cuts him off, her voice sharp in order to get his attention. It was something Moonbyul used to do to him, too. “Did you really think you could take them all on? I barely got out of there.”

Again, Jehyun is silent for a moment before he sighs, is exhale coming out shaky. “I could have not gotten bit by a fucking werewolf.”

Minnie’s eyes widen for just a split-second as if this was news to her, which it probably was, though she doesn’t dwell on it further. “What did it do, pin you down?” Jehyun’s silence and aversion of his gaze was answer enough for Minnie. “This isn’t your fault. This is fate dealing you a cruel hand.”

“Cruel…” Jehyun mutters, then lets out a huff of amusement. “Talk about it.”

The rest of the ride is silent as Hanbin drives back into the city and Jehyun slowly becomes more and more numb to the thoughts and concerns circling his head. He just had to accept his fate, now.

The next month was going to fucking suck.

* * *

For once, Junhoe and Shuhua were silent. They couldn’t bring themselves to speak, too uncomfortable by Rubin’s seething to even dare say a word. The hostility and negative emotions rolling off of him like waves were honestly scaring the both of them. They had seen everything that happened between him and the hunter, and were only just starting to put two and two together. That hunter must have been the boy that Rubin was dating for a while. Well, maybe dating was too light of a term. Whenever the vampire talked about the human boy, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and his smile grew wide enough to split across his face. It was definitely more than just dating. Rubin loved that boy, and the amount of betrayal he was feeling must have been astounding.

Shuhua almost couldn’t deal with the thought. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the scope of what Rubin was feeling. Granted, she didn’t even know what love felt like. Hell, she’d never even dated anyone. Junhoe scared away anyone who came close enough. It had always annoyed her, but maybe it was for the best if heartbreak looked like Rubin right now.

“I want you two to go back to the territory,” Rubin speaks up suddenly, looking over his shoulder at the two siblings. Their eyes widen as they exchange glances, too tense to really answer.

“Okay,” Junhoe finally speaks up, nodding as he grips Shuhua’s hand and keeps walking. Normally, Junhoe would question this order from Rubin. He was concerned that he was going to do something impulsive that he would regret later. The High Lord tended to be hot-headed like that. Shuhua didn’t even want to argue. She wanted to get away as soon as they could if only to escape the suffocating, tense air around Rubin.

Rubin watches the two leave, finally letting all the emotions on his shoulders weigh him down once they were out of sight and earshot. There’s a strangled sound that’s a mix between a cry and an angry sigh. He was so  _ done  _ with everything. This was like Junghoon all over again, except that he didn’t care about Jehyun.

No, that was wrong. Rubin cared so deeply for Jehyun, though refused to admit that to himself now. Maybe that’s why it hurt so much. 

His chest heaves as his fist collides with the trunk of a nearby tree, and before he even notices what he’s done, the bark splits and blood runs down from his knuckles. “I want to fucking die,” Rubin mutters, his voice so low and raspy it was almost inaudible even to himself. “Fuck immortality. Let me just fucking starve until I’m just some gray, rotting being with no purpose anymore! It’s not like I’m even useful to anyone in this goddamned clan. I let everyone down.” Rubin rants to himself, very much aware of his canines extending and red consuming his full irises. “I always disappoint everyone…” He murmurs again, then sitting down - no, collapsing - on the ground with his head in his hands. What even was his point in life? What good was he if he couldn’t control his urges, human and vampiric alike, and couldn’t protect the innocent lives in his clan? 

Nothing. He was nothing. 

And he just had to accept that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> side note, i've been thinking of posting another fic/one-shot collection once this fic is done. it would be set in the same au after the events of this fic and would just consist of short stories with the characters, and i may take requests. would anyone be interested in something like that?


	9. neuf.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sungho manages to find out one of Soyeon's closest-held secrets.
> 
> Jehyun struggles, but Minnie is right there beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW FOR THE FOLLOWING:  
> \- SUICIDAL THOUGHTS  
> \- SUICIDE ATTEMPT  
> \- PANIC ATTACK
> 
> don't read jehyun's portion of this chapter if those things will trigger you

The tension in the air between Sungho and Soyeon was thick enough to cut with a knife. Both of them were stubborn, and they knew that. They weren’t skirting around that fact either, especially since what had been done was done. But Sungho still felt the need to milk every single detail he could get out of Soyeon.

The younger female sat in the chair unmoving, her arms crossed over her chest as her golden-flecked brown eyes stay trained on Sungho. The Alpha stands across from her, leaning forward against the table with an unreadable expression on his face. It was silent, but not awkward. It was cold and calculating, like the look Soyeon wore. 

“You do realize you only made more trouble for everyone involved, right?” Sungho finally says, tilting his head a bit as he watches Soyeon.

Soyeon’s lips twitch up into a smirk. “Hardly,” she says, adjusting her weight to lean forward. “You’re the Alpha, you don’t have to allow him anywhere near the territory if he’s stupid enough to come crawling here by the time the next moon cycle finishes.”

“Of course I don’t,” Sungho agrees, his voice holding less warmth than it usually did when speaking amongst his packmates. “But I can’t control the other clans, and I certainly can’t control him. He could take this to other humans, expose the rest of us for good.”

Soyeon barks out a laugh. “God, Sungho, you know I love you, but you can be really fucking stupid sometimes.” She says, taking note of Sungho’s lip twitching.

“Watch your mouth,” he says, his voice dropping to a low warning tone. Soyeon seems barely phased. “But please do elaborate, I’m dying to know why you think I’m stupid.” His eyes flash gold for a moment as he leans further down, sarcasm leaking into his tone. 

“That logic is so backwards. Exposing us to the rest of the humans would expose him just as much.” Soyeon explains, not backing down from Sungho. “Even if I hadn’t bitten him. People being hunters isn’t common knowledge among humans.” She says, watching his expression that remains blank. “Please tell me you knew that.”

Sungho stays silent before closing his eyes and looking away, admitting defeat. 

Soyeon, for once, doesn’t laugh. She simply sighs as she presses the tips of her fingers to her temple. “You didn’t.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” Sungho asks, finally sitting down across from Soyeon. “I wasn’t ever human. You were, you would know that.”

“Barely,” Soyeon mutters. “There isn’t some giant coalition of hunters, as far as I know. There’s a larger group than that boy’s and they train people who come to them, but otherwise, they’re just as hidden as us.”

Sungho listens and nods, though his brows furrow a bit as he studies Soyeon. Her knowledge on this topic seemed a bit… too expansive. “And how do you know all of this?”

Now it was Soyeon’s turn to look away at the call out. For the entire five years she had known Sungho, she had been entirely honest about everything except this. How else was she supposed to be accepted into not only the pack, but the clan itself if the Alpha knew what she had done before she got bit? Sighing, Soyeon saw no plausible way out of this. Sungho was already suspicious. 

“Before I was turned, Mingi and I… we were in the training program.” Soyeon admits, keeping her gaze low and purposely avoiding Sungho’s eyes that she could feel boring into her. She hated talking about her time as a hunter-in-training. It only brought her feelings of immense shame and guilt, despite it only being half a year of her life wasted. But even still, it was just that - wasted.

Sungho’s silence causes Soyeon to continue on. “For barely six months. We were rebellious kids and didn’t want to be stuck in this box of school and then work for the rest of our lives. So we joined this training group we heard about from a friend. We learned basic hand-to-hand combat at first, but once we went on a real hunt… something didn’t feel right to us. Something told us that it wasn’t right to be killing these creatures with families, and friends, and emotions just the same as ours. So we quit.”

Sungho’s expression softens as he listens to Soyeon’s recollection of her short time as a hunter, hearing only genuine shame in her voice. He sighs as he reaches forward and grasps one of her hands between both of his. “Then you got bit?”

Soyeon nods, simply looking down to their hands as she grips his bottom one for a moment. “We went back in the forest to bury our weapons and one of the werewolves probably recognized me and attacked. Mingi didn’t want me to be alone so… he waited until I shifted for the first time and let me bite him so he would be turned too. We did… we did everything together. He even threw his life away for me.” She says, her voice catching near the end of her words. 

Sungho immediately grips her hands again in a reassuring action, hushing her before she continues. “Shh, it’s okay, you don’t have to go into it. Thank you… for telling me this.”

Soyeon simply nods, forcing the pricking of tears in her eyes to stop before they spill over. “Believe me now?” She asks instead.

Sungho takes a moment to reflect on her words. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe she wasn’t in the program - she was skilled enough in combat and knew the specifics of each species well enough that it made sense she had trained with the hunters. But somewhere deep down, something was telling him that this hunter-turned-werewolf was going to be causing some trouble. The side telling him to just let Soyeon win was too strong, though. He sighs and nods. “Yes, I do.” He says, averting his gaze. “We’ll leave him be. For now.” The last sentence comes out lower, more of a warning than anything else. 

Soyeon simply nods, pleased enough with the answer to not press it any further. She glances down, noticing that their hands were still entwined. Normally, she would pull back as soon as she noticed, but there was something… different about it this time. She grips Sungho’s hands for a split second before pulling back and standing up. “I’m going to go hunt. Call me if you need me.”

Sungho waves her off and nods back. “I will.” He assures, watching as the female leaves. He couldn’t help but wonder why it had taken this long to realize how special Soyeon was to him.

* * *

  
  


Week after week was like a new level of hell to Jehyun.

At first it felt like a really bad cold. He expected the feeling of weakness and constant headaches pounding in his skull for all hours of the day. The second week was when the intense flu symptoms started. He vomited so much that week that there was almost nothing left in his stomach, and everything that came out was bile that burned the back of his throat. The constant retching evolved into crippling aches in his muscles that left him mostly immobile for a few days.

He couldn’t handle this. Of course, Jehyun knew what horrible month-long sickness happened to a human bitten by a werewolf, but going through it himself was unbearable. He didn’t know how to deal with the physical pain and the emotional baggage he was still carrying.

Jehyun was immensely grateful for Minnie’s near daily visits. He didn’t know what he would do without her. She brought him food the very few times he did need it, but mostly just kept him company for as long as he could. Bobby and Hanbin tried, but both were busy enough for the four of them.

Regardless, this didn’t stop Jehyun from clicking off the safety of the gun, tapping the barrel of the firearm against his open palm as he stares at the ground. His eyes are dull and unfocused, all life drained from him as the hope was, too. He was too far gone to be cured now, if there even was an antidote. His entire body was aching to the point where it felt like he would shatter at the slightest touch, and his mind was plagued with constant thoughts of Rubin and “ _ what if?” _ s. It was too overwhelming - he couldn’t take it anymore, he just wanted everything to end-

Tears burn Jehyun’s eyes as they fall down his cheeks, coming fast enough that he can feel them seeping through his lips and dripping from his chin onto the floor and the gun. All it would take is one pull of the trigger and he would be gone for good. One less wolf to take anymore lives, but a hunter who failed at the one job he had. 

“Just do it,” Jehyun hisses to no one, tightening his grip on the gun before bringing it up to aim at his temple. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, his voice raspy from the amount of damage suffered over the past few weeks. But it was okay now. It would all be over soon. Just one bend of his knuckle and-

“Jehyun! I’m back!” Minnie’s voice reverberates through the small apartment, startling Jehyun enough to make him look up. Why had he given Minnie a key, again?

His hand doesn’t move from its position even when Minnie appears in the threshold, pausing whatever words were about to come from her mouth when she sees the scene before her. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what Jehyun was about to do.

“Don’t,” is the only thing that makes it past Minnie’s lips, the word barely audible as a breathy whisper. She slowly walks towards him, as if he were a wild animal ready to pounce.

The irony.

“Please,” she says, nearly begging. Jehyun doesn’t move, keeping his eyes trained on her as she kneels in front of him. “Please don’t do this.” Her hand drapes over his, gently pushing the gun down to point at the floor. “This isn’t the answer.”

“Then what is?” Jehyun responds, barely meeting her gaze as he allows her to push his arm down. “I don’t want to become a monster.”

Minnie frowns, seeming unsurprised by his reply. She expected him to think this way. “No,” she says, ever so carefully prying the firearm from his fingers and setting it down, then gripping his hand in hers. “You’ll still be you. Just not… human.” She says, then sighs in defeat. “You don’t have to let it define you.” 

Jehyun is silent for what seems like an eternity. Minnie almost thought he wasn’t going to respond, until the cracked words barely whisper past his lips. “I fucked up.” Minnie doesn’t respond, only drops her gaze and grips his hand tighter. “I was sleeping with the vampire leader and didn’t even know it. I dropped my guard and got bit. I’m a failure.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Minnie snaps, effectively gaining Jehyun’s attention. “There wasn’t anything you could have done, we went over this. The vampires know how to hide themselves, and you don’t know what to look for. How were you supposed to know?”

Jehyun is silent again for a long time, seeming almost empty this time. Almost like he didn’t want to respond. “I wasn’t. Motherfucker was damn good at lying.”

Minnie chooses not to directly respond to his words. “Besides that, how much does this really affect us? So what, you were with someone who turned out to be a vampire. He wasn’t the one who bit you, he isn’t in your life anymore. I know… that there’s emotional trauma. I’m not saying that’s going to be easy to recover from, but you can’t keep blaming yourself.”

That’s the breaking point for Jehyun. His head drops as his shoulders rack with sobs, tears again flowing down his cheeks like rivers. Minnie stands from her spot and sits beside him, pulling him into a hug. There’s no hesitation as he clings back, desperate for the physical touch and comfort she was providing. “I just want to be as good as I used to be,” he mutters, looking up at Minnie.

“You still are, Jehyun,” Minnie says, meeting his gaze only for her eyes to widen in shock. She knew it would be coming eventually, but she wasn’t prepared for it to actually happen.

Jehyun, taking notice of her expression pulls back just a bit, his expression morphing into one of worry. “What?” He questions, his voice shaking.

“Your eyes,” Minnie mutters, almost entranced by how the male’s eyes seemed to be glowing. “They’re gold.”

Jehyun pushes himself away from Minnie, surprising her even more as his chest heaves with labored breaths. “No, no, no-” He repeats, curling up and squeezing his eyes shut. “Not now,” his voice comes out as a strained whisper.

Minnie approaches him again, but stops when he flinches away. He was like a scared animal. There was the irony again. She pulls her hand back, giving him the distance he was obviously begging for. But… what was she supposed to do? Well, maybe those psychology classes would come in handy, now. Approaching carefully, Minnie kneels in front of Jehyun again but doesn’t touch him. “Jehyun, you need to breathe,” she says, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. 

It was happening all over again. Jehyun thought these stupid panic attacks had passes by now, but he should have known better. Something like this would always trigger an attack, but he was immensely grateful that Minnie was still by his side. He listens to her words, trying to steady his breathing, taking slow inhales and exhaling through his mouth. It took him a while, but eventually his breaths evened out and he was able to look at Minnie again. Her expression remained neutral, though there was a hint of a smile upon her lips. “Sorry,” Jehyun exhales, squeezing his eyes shut as his head pounds.

“Your eyes are normal again,” Minnie mentions, standing up from her spot to sit by Jehyun, motioning for him to lift his head. He does so, allowing her to sit down and rest his head in her lap. SIlence permeates the air once more as Jehyun falls further into a state of calmness, aided by Minnie’s fingers carding through his hair idly. “We’ll get through this.” Minnie speaks up again, looking down at the younger male. “No matter what happens, I’m going to be right here beside you. I don’t care about what you are, but  _ who  _ you are. You’re Jehyun, and always will be.”

Jehyun can’t help but to smile softly at the words. Minnie and Moonbyul had always been his rocks, the people he could trust the most, and Minnie continued to fill that role. “Thank you,” he whispers, gripping her knee for just a moment before dropping his hand. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm surprised i've made it this far tbh
> 
> i would have had this out sooner but woojin leaving skz really just,,,,, put a halt on everything for a day or so. he was my bias, and always will be. while he isn't included in this story, i do have skz fanfics planned where he is a character, and he will remain in those stories. just because he's left the group doesn't mean he's gone for good, yeah? we have to remember him and treasure him always, it's what he would want. keep going on strong, stay!! <3
> 
> but anyway, this fic will hopefully be wrapped up in the next few chapters, and then the oneshot fic begins !!
> 
> ALSO 1TEAM COMEBACK NOVEMBER 6 LETS GET THIS BREAD YALL BETTER STREAM MAKE THIS WHEN IT DROPS OR I WILL END YOUR BLOODLINE   
> i have giveaways up on both my instagram and twitter for both versions of the ONE album! i'm giving away one set on ig and one on twt so be sure to enter both if you wanna win one of those sexy new albums ooooo  
> i've also been a lot more active on twitter in general so come chat w me pls
> 
> instagram: @1team.in.neverland  
> twitter: @1team_in_nvrlnd
> 
> okay ily all vvv much mwah bye !!


	10. dix.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junghoon finally breaks the news to Soojin.
> 
> The moon cycle has finished, and it's the moment Jehyun has been dreading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAA I'M SO SO SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE I JUST GOT... . . . . SO LOST  
> but it's okay bc i got my mojo back :DD

“He did what?”

That wasn’t what Junghoon was expecting at all. He was expecting Soojin to continue her pointed glares, but her expression softening and her words coming out as merely more than a whisper nearly surprises him. “Rubin bit me,” Junghoon admits again, this time looking Soojin in the eye. 

Soojin seems almost in disbelief. Other than that, she showed no adverse reaction. Her eyes flit back and forth as her gaze tilts towards the ground, and her lips open and close as she struggles to find the correct words. “When?” She asks instead, finally looking back up at Junghoon.

“A couple of years ago, before I was appointed,” Junghoon answers simply, watching Soojin closely for any sort of anger or disappointment. He hated seeing her disappointed.

"When you were dating him…?” Soojin asks, her eyes softening as her head tilts to the side a bit, just like his did at times. Junghoon nods in response, not bothering to give a verbal response. Soojin then nods back once in confirmation, again averting her gaze before speaking up again. “Can I see it?”

The question certainly caught Junghoon off guard, though he should have expected it. Everyone was curious as to what a vampire bite actually looked like, even if it was years old. Any other time he would have refused immediately, but this was Soojin. Even if they had been rocky with each other for the past few days, she was still like his big sister. He couldn’t say no to her.

Sighing, Junghoon hooks his fingers under his collar again and pulls down, revealing the two puffy, circular scars on his neck. Soojin only looks at them for a moment, as if trying to decide if they were real or not, then takes a step forward and brushes her thumb over them. Junghoon jerks away, mostly out of forced reaction than anything else. He mumbles an apology when Soojin pulls back, looking almost frightened. “Sorry, you’re fine,” he reassures, releasing the tension in his muscles as he relaxes, letting Soojin come closer again to run a fingertip over the scars.

“You know,” Soojin says, her voice soft and quiet as usual, “I can get rid of the scars for you, if you want.”

Junghoon isn’t sure of what to think of the response. He knows that she means well - she always does - but the male almost feels… offended by her offer. He pulls away again and tugs his shirt collar up over the bite marks. “No,” he shakes his head, looking at Soojin with an almost irritated expression. “This happened before I was appointed. And I think… that because I was able to get to where I am now even after being bit… it’s a reminder that I overcame it.” He says, seeming to come to a conclusion himself. 

Soojin watches, her expression softening as she watches realization cross over Junghoon’s features. She hadn’t meant to make him think that deeply, but now that she was putting the pieces together, she was glad this was the outcome. "That's a good mentality to have, Hoon," she says, smiling softly at the younger male. “It’s your choice. If you want to keep them, then that's okay." She reassures, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. 

"Thank you." The words tumble from Junghoon's lips in a whisper, almost inaudible if Soojin wasn't aware of just how timid Junghoon could be sometimes. “I should have told you as soon as it happened, but… I got scared.” 

Soojin smiles softly, pulling the taller boy into a hug. “It’s okay. I don’t demand to know about everything that happens to you, Junghoon, and I don’t know why you seem to think that. It’s okay to keep secrets,” she explains before her demeanor shifts just the slightest bit. “We all have them.”

Something about the way she says it sends a wave of tension down Junghoon’s spine. There was something beneath the words there, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Obviously, Soojin didn’t want him to know. Taking a breath, Junghoon pulls back and studies Soojin for a moment before nodding. “I’m glad to have you. Really.” He says, a ghost of a smile then gracing his lips. “You keep me from making stupid decisions.”

Soojin smiles again, all sense of the sinister energy Junghoon felt dissipating. "Of course," she says. "Who else will?"

* * *

Jehyun knew that today was the day of the full moon without even looking. He felt…  _ something _ \- he didn't know what - crawling and scratching beneath his skin, itching to finally get out. Deep in his mind, he knew what it was, but he was too far in denial to admit what it was. He would remain selectively clueless, but by tonight, he couldn't.

He'd made sure to let Minnie know to come over tonight, since he wasn't sure if she would. She'd been fairly busy with her life in the city, but still always made the time to visit Jehyun. She arrives just on time, distracting Jehyun from watching the sunset from his window. As per usual, she used the key he'd given her to get in, knowing that Jehyun was in too much pain to get up and answer the door.

"Good timing," Jehyun says, his voice hoarse. He doesn't even look up at Minnie, keeping his eyes on the open window. The sky was painted with vivid shades of orange and purple now, masked in a full gray by the smog of the city. Jehyun couldn't help but relate it to how he felt.

"Have you been staring out the window all day?" Minnie asks, sitting on the edge of the couch by Jehyun's waist. She pulls her jacket off and folds it neatly over her knees, then places a hand on Jehyun's shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"Mhm," Jehyun hums, turning towards her. He winces at the burning that increases beneath his skin, feeling only a stinging pain as he forces himself to sit up. Minnie lets out a panicked jumble of words as she grips both of his shoulders now, attempting to help him. "I'm fine," Jehyun insists, settling against the corner of the couch.

"Okay…" Minnie backs down, pulling her hands away as she angles herself to face Jehyun. "So, I'm guessing… tonight's the night?"

Jehyun hesitates for a moment, but nods. "I have a feeling," he says, letting his head fall back against the cushions. "I don't know when, though. But… I want you to take me into the forest before it happens. I'd go myself, but there's no way I could."

The female hunter nods immediately. "I'll take you." She says, the corner of her lips twitching up in a smile for only a second. "We should go now, though, while the sun sets. Just to be safe."

"Yes," Jehyun agrees, then motions towards the door where a small bag leans against the wall. "I'll need that with me so I can call you once it's over." Minnie nods and gets up, draping her jacket over her arm as she goes over to pick the bag up. Without a word, she returns to Jehyun and leans down, sliding one of her arms under his and gripping around his upper back. 

Jehyun grimaces, but does his best to stand up with Minnie's help. She was smaller than him, but just as strong, if not stronger. It was no easy feat to be able to pull back those strings on every one of her bows. Jehyun had tried - with their heavy weight, it was nearly impossible for him to do with only his firearm training. 

"I'm parked just outside, think you make it that far?" Minnie asks, managing to keep Jehyun upright. He grits his teeth, trying not to voice all of the pain he was feeling now that he was standing. He manages a nod, though, much to Minnie's relief. "Good," she says, pushing more of her weight against him to make it a bit easier. "Lean on me, Jehyun, I'm not going to break." She insists, noticing how the male hesitates before he does so, leaning most of his own weight against her. Satisfied, Minnie makes her way towards the door and opens, taking her time heading to her car to lessen the toll on Jehyun as much as she could.

As soon as he gets in the passenger seat, Jehyun lets out a sigh and leans his head back. He buckles himself in once Minnie hands it to him, making it a bit easier on him. Once Minnie gets in the driver's seat and has her seat belt in, she remains silent for a few moments, then turns to Jehyun. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Jehyun keeps his eyes closed and his head tilted back against the headrest. He takes a deep breath in, not looking at Minnie. "I have to be."

The ride to the forest on Soknan Island is silent. Minnie was on autopilot - she'd driven this route enough to know it like the back of her hand. Because of that, she only found herself focusing on the heaviness of Jehyun's breathing and how it became rougher the closer they got to the forest. The light of the full moon was growing brighter, and with it, Jehyun becomes more and more restless. By the time they reached their normal rendezvous point past the edge of the forest, he was breathing harshly through grit teeth, gripping the edge of the seat hard enough that his knuckles were white.

In a panic, Minnie parks haphazardly and presses the release button on Jehyun's seatbelt, allowing him to frantically pull at the door handle. It opens and the male nearly falls out of it, only steadying himself by gripping the edge of the door. Minnie rounds the front of the car, tossing the bag into the patch of bushes Jehyun always used to hide his extra firearms; he would know where to find it.

Before Jehyun completely crumples to the ground, Minnie grabs him again and helps him into a more clear area away from the car. He shoves her away once he deems them far enough away, though mostly wanting to get Minnie away from him lest he lose control of himself. A scream rips from his throat as he recoils in on himself, collapsing to the ground. His eyes squeeze shut and he breathes heavily, almost wheezing. Minnie steps back slowly, feeling nothing but fear and helplessness as Jehyun just  _ screams  _ through the sound of bones breaking and rearranging themselves. She wants to look away, but her eyes are glued to the scene as the male rolls over onto his hands and knees, arching his back and rolling his shoulders. Everything seems to revert in on itself, disappearing into nothing. Finally, Minnie looks away, only after again seeing the golden shine of Jehyun's eyes. It doesn't help her anxiety to take deep breaths, as she can only see Moonbyul fighting that goddamned werewolf replay behind her eyelids as she listens the sounds of human screams turn to canid whines.

"Stop it," she mutters to herself, blinking away tears as she forces herself back to reality. Once she finally opens her eyes, she's greeted with the sight of a very large dark gray wolf, simply laying on his side as his chest heaves with heavy breaths. He didn't seem to be trying to attack or anything - he was merely resting. While the sight of the wolf sent waves of fear through Minnie, she was constantly reminding herself that this was Jehyun. She could only hope that he was still himself in there.

"Jehyun…?" She asks, stepping closer timidly. The wolf's ears perk up, though he doesn't show any sign of moving. Feeling calmed enough by that, Minnie approaches him from the front, moving ever-so-slowly so that she doesn't startle him. "Are you still in there?" The female lowers herself to her knees in front of him, noticing how his golden eyes follow her movements. He huffs in response, though offers nothing else. Minnie decides to take that as a yes and sits down on the grass, not taking her eyes off of the giant canine before. It felt wrong to disconnect Jehyun from the wolf, now that she thought about it. As much as they both hated it, they were one in the same now. "Are you going to hurt me?" She asks quieter this time, seeming almost embarrassed by the question.

If Jehyun could roll his eyes, he would have. As soon as the blinding white pain passed and he came to in this strange new body, he understood what the itching and scratching beneath his skin was. It was his wolf. It was odd, really; they were the same entity, but at the same time, they were separate. All in one moment, Jehyun understood that this was a partnership, and his wolf had his own wants and needs. If he wanted them bad enough, then he wouldn't hesitate to take control in either form, but he otherwise let Jehyun take the reins. He wouldn't ever hurt Minnie - the thought would never even cross his mind. Again, he huffs at her, then decides it might be a good time to get up… if he could figure out how. He bends his legs before tucking them underneath himself, then rolls over and pushes himself up on all fours. It was weird to feel his back legs bending in the opposite direction, but it definitely made him feel a lot more agile. Looking back down at Minnie, he recognizes the fear she feels, though not by the look on her face. Jehyun realizes he can smell it on her - something bitter and unpleasant. Come to think of it, the scents of the forest were much,  _ much  _ stronger now. He could smell everything so clearly, and he knew the location of all of it without even looking. He could hear sounds from miles off, too - small woodland creatures scampering around and the softest wind barely whistling through the leaves In a way, it was sort of amazing. He felt so much stronger now.

Jehyun tears his attention away from his surroundings, looking back down at Minnie still sitting on the ground.  _ Come on, get up, _ Jehyun tries to say, only realizing the only sounds coming from his mouth were whines rather than words once he finished.  _ This would be so much easier if you could hear me _ , he thinks, the leans down to nudge against Minnie's shoulder. He hears her breath hitch - even hears her heart rate increase - as she freezes. It was going to be difficult to get his message across if she was this afraid. He knew why, too. He knew she had witnessed Moonbyul's attack, and that was likely the cause for her anxiety. Deciding to try again, he nudges against her shoulder gently, then underneath her thigh to try and get her up. 

"Oh-" Minnie lets out, nearly falling backwards as the wolf- no, as Jehyun tries to push her up. With shaking knees, she rises to her feet, keeping her eyes on Jehyun. He was at eye level with her, though would definitely be taller if he weren't ducking his head. She couldn't help but think that he was probably one of the smaller werewolves she's seen, though didn't really have much of a comparison as she'd only really seen one up close. He was bigger than the one that attacked Moonbyul, for sure. "Werewolves really are big, huh?" She asks timidly, feeling a bit more relaxed when Jehyun bobs his head in confirmation. With that, he lifts his head fully, indeed coming up about twenty or so centimeters taller than her. 

Jehyun hears her heart rate slow to a more normal one, causing him to relax as well. His ears swivel around, catching every new, interesting sound he heard, though Minnie's next words pique his interest the most. "Can I… touch you?" She asks, embarrassment replacing her fear. Jehyun blinks, mostly shocked at the question before deciding… why not? He dips his head down again, nudging against Minnie's hand and hoping that was enough of a signal for 'yes'. Minnie says nothing as she brings both hands up to gingerly pet down Jehyun's head. It felt just like how she would do it over the past month, and he hated to admit that he loved it even more as a wolf. He pushes his head further up against her hands, encouraging Minnie to continue. She grins as she obliges, digging her fingers further into his fur, marveling at how thick the dark gray coat was. "Oh my god, you're so… fluffy." Minnie says, laughing softly as Jehyun lets out a non-threatening growl, as if he were protesting. "Sorry, but you are!" She says, smiling as she scratches behind his ears. That's the golden spot, it seems, as it makes him dip his head and tilt it into her touch. The sight makes her laugh and she continues, noticing how it draws out low grumbles from him - she could only assume that meant he was enjoying it.

_ Fuck, that's nice, but I have to go,  _ Jehyun thinks, willing himself to pull away from Minnie's touch, albeit reluctantly. She drops her hands to her side, again looking at him with a knowing expression. It was silent between the two for a while before Jehyun surges forward to lick against her cheek and ear, then heads to the edge of the clearing. Minnie laughs as she startles, pressing her shoulder up against her ear in response. "I'm assuming you're gonna go now?" She asks, turning towards him. He nods once, otherwise remaining still.

Minnie watches him, finding a soft smile still on her face. "Okay. I'll wait for your call," she says, bowing towards him before he disappears into the foliage. She watches, sighing once he's gone. She couldn't help but think that things somehow just felt… right, now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed werewolf pets. i certainly enjoy werewolf pets.


End file.
